a pirate, a princess and a caster- what could possibly go wrong?
by yesiamanowl
Summary: previously just a pirate a princess and a caster but now its about 20 chapters long... I suck at summaries


**Hey my little Owls! I was uploading this originally as a series... but seeing as it was all in one document I decided to upload everything that there is so far as one mega chapter and then the rest in another (probably smaller) mega chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Sam

Before anyone could say a word against it, the cannons fired their blackening smoke to bring down the once innocent boy named peter, now with a fair few grudges against him. Hook brought the ship around, but Pan didn't move, for he knew if he did, he would never see she that would break his heart. However this girl didn't feel as he did, causing his flight to be somewhat inaccurate. But this was only happening because she knew Hook, and was probably scared. But you should know the start before you know the end.

It had been a snowy day close to the middle of December, meaning that ice and snow on the roads was common and queues would build up long before rush hour and no one was really awake. So neither were we. And by "we" I mean my friends and I who were on the long trek to school after being snowed in at my house. I should probably tell you their names, for they play as big a part in this story as I do. The three of us walked in a line, with Keegan on one side, Aimee in the middle and me on the outside. It usually takes five minutes to get to school, but with the weather being so bad, the bus wouldn't come so we just decided to walk there. It would've taken us roughly an hour to walk there had the first of seven strange incidences not happened. A few of our teachers had actually been really unlucky in the snow, for some were snowed in, whilst others had been in crashes or accidents in the foul weather; this meant seeing new teachers was becoming more common than seeing our own. However that being said, it's pretty unusual when one of them knows who you are and offers you a lift to school to A) get out the freezing weather and B) so we could get to school on time. By this time all time it had been half an hour in light snowfall, and despite the fact we were all wearing snow coats, we were pretty cold. So we agreed.

"Do any of you have Mrs Raven for chemistry today?" the supply teacher asked, however I couldn't get out of my head why he looked so familiar, did he look like someone from TV, or maybe from a film? I didn't know. I was also perplexed as why he asked that question, for indeed I did have Mrs Raven for chemistry that day, so I asked;

"I have Mrs Raven third period, why may I ask?"

"She slipped on some ice and broke her leg last night, so I have been called in to cover her lessons"

"And who might you be exactly?"

"Dr Killian Jones, your schools latest chemistry teacher"

"Well let's just hope you have better luck than the others then". Let's just say he looked fairly perplexed when I said this, but it was obvious that he wasn't going to ask why I had made my remark. When we got to school, I finally got a better look at this "Killian Jones" character. He was fairly tall, with muscles that I'm pretty sure would be the same size as a firefighters. He had no fat on him, and cheekbones that would cut you if you slapped them. His face was unusual in the fact that his deep brown eyes were set deep into his head, as if he hadn't slept in a week, maybe more. Underneath the snow that had just landed on his head, his hair was jet black and was somewhere between scruffy and somewhat attractive. His eyes were about as deep as his voice, which made him even more mysterious. Keegan and I were the first to get out of the car, whilst we had to practically drag Aimee away from the heater for the promise of her getting the radiator seat in the social area where we spent the majority of our time. Inside it was pretty much empty, for the snow had caused everyone delays, but with its emptiness came much needed warmth from the radiators. This was nice up to a certain degree, for Keegan and I however it was anyway. For whenever we walked into somewhere that was hotter than the outside, our glasses would steam up causing practical blindness. Aimee in these matters wasn't any good for she would just laugh at us every time it happened. Today was no different. Aimee's perfectly structured frame sat by the radiator, heating up gently from the frozen outside world. When she stands up, she is roughly the same size as me, maybe a few millimetres shorter, if that. Keegan and I were eventually able to join her as our glasses defogged themselves. None of us even bothered trying to call home to say we were at school, for the school had next to no signal usually, and the snow had taken what little signal we had left. The proceedings of form time went normally; Aimee and I would go to our form and Keegan would go to her form room, just two doors down the hall.

It wasn't until first period that the second and third of the seven strange happenings consecutively occurred. Aimee and I had Spanish first, with our Latin American Spanish teacher called Mrs Gonzalez who wouldn't fail to give us Christmas songs to sing; with the one condition that they were in Spanish. Of course we didn't mind that. It was about half way through the lesson, when Aimee went pale as a ghost saying;

"Sam, someone is watching us"

"Well, yeah we are in school, what do you expect"

"No, I mean there is a guy standing outside the window staring right at us". As I went to look, I understood what she meant. This impossible feat, a guy who neither of us had ever seen before, was standing outside of the 2nd storey window. However as soon as I looked, he disappeared. Had I been able to get a better look than a glance in, I would've said that the man had skin similar to a reptile, like a crocodiles, just not as green. I could tell Aimee was shaken up with the experience, but we had to continue till the end of the lesson to try and be at least a little bit normal (Just FYI it was more normal than not that we were not being normal, but then again, what even is being bloody normal?).

We met Keegan at our usual table in the library, which instead of being full of freezing adolescents, today it just held us; most people hadn't been able to make it to school in most years, so half the school wasn't even on campus. Turns out Keegan had seen him too, and that maybe we weren't quite as crazy as we first thought, for surely three people cannot have the exact same hallucination?

In second period I had psychology in the room that was usually way too warm, but when it was half empty and on a freezing day, it was just the right temperature for sleeping (Which I did NOT do, I left that to the others). Let's just say that our teacher wasn't too impressed with that development. Half way through, I could've sworn I was hallucinating again, for whilst I was working, I saw a silver hook on my page rather than my work. And when I say silver hook, I mean literally, every word on my page was gone and on top of the page was a bizarre hook, the kind you would see on the Mary Rose in Portsmouth's historic dockyard, or at least a ship of that age. Once again however, this didn't last long, for as soon as I went to pick said hook up, it disappeared and my writing appeared. I don't know whether this was fortunate or not, but my teacher stared at me as if I had just done magic (I mean this in a bad way), for she too had seen the hook appear and disappear, to say the least neither of us were going to mentioning that any time soon. I waited eagerly for the lesson to end so I could speak to Aimee and Keegan about it, and to know whether or not I had had this hallucination alone. It was then that I realised that I still had a period between now and lunch, the dreaded chemistry with the almost alien chemistry teacher who had picked us up just this morning.

I walked into the half empty classroom, everything in its natural state: Messy, stinking of the last classes experiment and a teacher at the board. It took me a moment to remember that I would be spending the period with a class made mostly of boys (there was only ONE other girl for the rest had stayed at their retrospective homes.) and Dr Killian Jones.

"Right… So you are doing DF, are you not right now?" Everybody kind of just nodded in response for we were all too cold to do chemistry right at that moment.

"I would like everybody to move to the front two tables seeing as there are so few of us; that does include you at the back". I put my head down, groaned in response and picked my stuff up to where I would get incredibly bored as I was sat with all the really smart-ass and smart guys who were more interested in trying to chat whichever girl was near them up. It was ten minutes in when this Dr Killian actually noticed this, which all of the boys consequently got into trouble for. But the miracles for this lesson were starting to tie into what I had already seen. For when Dr Jones turned around, I could've sworn that he had the hook from my psychology lesson as a hand. Obviously it disappeared as soon as I paid too much attention to it. But I knew he had known that I had seen it, for he started to almost hide his left hand for the rest of the period. The second miracle for this period was the return of the crocodile skinned man. I had finished my work before the rest, looked up, and saw he him holding a clock to Dr Jones however this time I heard his voice. Somewhere between Scottish and Irish, saying "Time is running out Hook".

To say the least I was shaken up by this time and was hoping this was all a bizarre dream and I would wake up soon. My fears however became reality, for when we met for lunch in the social area at the radiator we had called our own this morning, we discovered every single one of us had seen the crocodile man, talking to Dr Jones, however for them, Jones was dressed in a leather pirates outfit, and with the hook. Keegan had slightly different hallucinations, as did Aimee, For Keegan kept seeing golden thread, and broken tea cups. Crocodile man still remained in her mind. Aimee had seen a gun (slightly worrying for us seeing as I was the most violent, yet Aimee had the most violent object appear), as well as the Crocodile man who seemingly was screwing with all of our minds. We thought things couldn't get any stranger, but fate seemed to want to use us as its personal chew toy. We noticed something going on at the door, for all the teachers, resilient students who had bothered to come to school were coming into our (not so) prestigious sixth form block. Turns out it was the building with any power or heating left. Out of the corner of her eye, Keegan spotted the Mysterious Dr Killian Jones staring in what she believed to be was her direction.

"Why do you think that weird teacher keeps staring at me?"

"Something tells me it's all three of us he's is staring at Keegan" I responded pessimistically. There had to be some form of shenanigans going on, for none of these six things could be unrelated and by chance? No, this had to be someone's hilarious plan of a prank who wanted to see us more confused than probably was humanely possible.

"Can I get all of your attention please!" everybody's head turned as the headmistress called to the few of us who were in attendance.

"As you are all aware, we have had a very poor attendance today due to the horrendous weather, and I'm afraid to say, it's only going to get worse, So I have no choice but to send all of you home early for the rest of the term, unless the weather clears up significantly. Meaning you are all free to go!"

Nobody hesitated in trying to get out of school early, however us being us, we stayed to avoid the chaos outside and waited a few moments for all the younger years to leave. For them however, they were not fast enough, for as we stood to leave the crowded area, the floor in front of us started to break away, to show a powerful, swirling vortex, with a pull which could drag you along a floor if you had nothing to hold onto. Which neither, Keegan, Aimee or I had; meaning we were headed towards this portal with such a force it knocked Keegan out. As it stood, we weren't the only ones who were dragged through the vortex, for a certain Dr Jones was joining us. But just as that all had happened, it all went black.

Chapter Two: Keegan

The first thing I remember seeing is a library. And I'm not meaning the library where you could take a book out, not a modern library; more like a library from the middle ages, where every bookshelf is filled with books you've never read before, and more adventures than you can count. When my head cleared, I realised that Neither Aimee nor Sam were with me. All I could feel was the cold and lonely atmosphere of this magnificent yet fearful library. I realised I had to get out to try and find my friends, and I didn't care how I did it, I would find my friends again.

Fortunately, I didn't have very long to wait before I was found by one of the castle I happened to have landed in. She had said her name was Belle, like in the story beauty and the beast, and that where I had woken up was indeed her library. She also proceeded to tell me that her husband (once thought of as a monster) was a powerful sorcerer named Rumpelstiltskin, and went missing just a few weeks ago.

"I cannot help but notice the timing, your arrival, my husband's disappearance, the magic going missing all over the land…"

"Hold up, Magic exists?"

"Well, yes, it's what this land practically lives on. Nearly everything you see in this castle was created by Rumpelstiltskin. To say the least it took him a while, as he only had his magic to aid him."

I spent the next few days learning about this castle and land, for I knew I would help me on what I now needed to do more than ever- Find my friends.

"Belle my dear, where are you?" came a voice I knew I shouldn't know yet I did. It was the voice I had heard just days before back home where I realistically should be now. His thick Scottish accent was now replaced by a voice which sounded as if he were going to trick you out of something.

"Ahh, our guest is finally awake, how nice" he said with a sly smile. He was as I remembered him when I had seen him back home, his skin as mud coloured as a crocodiles, and teeth that in this light almost looked sharp, to say his clothes were strange was an understatement, however, in this land, it was I who was dressed strangely. "Oh the plans I have for you my dear, So much power, yet such little knowledge"

"Hey! I do know some things! Just not things that mean much in this land- speaking of which, where the hell am I?"

"Why my dear, the enchanted forest of course, the source of nearly all magic and stories!"

Throughout this entire conversation, Belle had remained silent, although to say the least she did look at me as if I were going to die any second. "Belle, prepare the guest room and lock the gates! I don't want this one being taken or running away!" I looked to Belle shocked, for how could she, this beautiful lady, be married and in love with such a disgusting and horrible man? I mean, how could she stand being talked to like that? Under his tyrannical rule, how did she have any freedom?

"I am sorry for Rumple, he isn't usually like this, in fact, and he hasn't been like this for nearly three decades"

"So that isn't normal? For it seemed like it was for a while there."

Belle proceeded to do as her husband, Rumpelstiltskin had told her to do; however she did do some things that rumple hadn't told her to do, such as getting me some clothes that were decent in this world, for it turned out a ski coat and skinny jeans weren't very appropriate nor normal here in the enchanted forest. She handed me a beautiful emerald green dress, which looked good enough to go to a ball in. She corrected me very soon after because this was just an old dress that was meant for living in, and that the ball gowns were truly spectacular: covered in jewels and ribbons that flew through the air as you danced, and reflected the moonlight in multi-coloured beams of colour, illuminating even the darkest of ballrooms.

Eventually we found our way to the so-called spare bedroom. Inside the doors was the kind of room that a princess would deserve, not I, the girl who nobody cared about (Bar Aimee and Sam, they had always been there for me, but where were they now?). I graciously accepted Belle's offer of staying the night, for I would rather spend a night in this incredible castle rather than the freezing cold forest floor outside. I still took into account I needed to find out where Aimee and Sam were, and who Rumpelstiltskin had meant when someone had run away and another taken by force. I needed to know what the master of these halls had planned for me, I couldn't tell whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that he had "chosen" me, and for what was another matter altogether. Before I could think of anything else, I found myself materialising at a table with Belle and Rumpelstiltskin already sitting there. I hadn't really given any thought to it beforehand, but I hadn't eaten anything since I had woken up, and seeing as that was nearly eight hours ago, I was pretty famished. I happily ate nearly everything that appeared in front of me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this food was somehow enchanted, enchanted to make me feel different, for I could feel the thoughts of Aimee and Sam being pulled out of my head, and to somewhere I knew not where.

"What do you know about magic and how to cast it Saphira?"

"Nothing on the magic front and my name is Keegan, not Saphira."

"Oh really? For in this land, you have a different name, as we all do here. For my American name is very different to my actual name of Rumpelstiltskin"

"If my name is different here, will my friend's names have changed too?"

"Most likely. If their still alive that is" As he said those words I felt a cold shiver of fear running down my spine. They couldn't be dead could they? Surely I would have felt something if that had happened, and Sam, she couldn't be dead, for she was the survivor in our group and could fight and face anything that was thrown at her. As for Aimee, I hope to dear god that she was with Sam, for she couldn't defend for herself as Sam could as even in an argument, Sam would be the one fighting for Aimee when she could no longer fight for herself. I wanted more than anything for this to all be a bad dream, and that Sam and Aimee were actually okay but before I could say anything to fight it, I was consumed by the darkness as my consciousness left me and I fell into the void between worlds.

Chapter three: Aimee

I awoke feeling the chill of frost on my face, someone screaming at me and it being dark. Admittedly not the best way to wake up after being knocked unconscious and falling through a portal, just as my friends had, although neither of them were with me. As my vision cleared, I could see that I was lying by a dock, with fishing boats tied up and a fish cannery right next to me. Above me I could see the face of the man who had appeared at school that day (and I say that day for I don't know how long I've been out for), Dr Killian Jones. Standing beside him was a beautiful yet stern woman who looked fairly worried, and a young boy, who kind of looked like the two of them put together so I'm guessing he's their son.

"What do you mean she just appeared over the water?!"

"I mean just that Emma! I was standing here, wondering if any of them had managed to escape from her, when this one appeared and fell into the water"

"And is that the truth?"

"Would she and I be soaking wet if it wasn't?". At this response the lady now named Emma turned away and pulled out a police radio and began speaking into it, probably to her fellow officers or something like that. My attention promptly turned to Jones as I realised I was practically cradled in his arms and freezing cold. Trying to move however was another story, for as I did, he told me to stay still and that a doctor was going to be here soon to help with my frost bite. I stood up, ignoring all his demands to stay down, turned to him to see him also standing and soaking wet, and slapped him across those sharper-than-they-look cheekbones (I'm pretty sure my hand hurt more from slapping him than his cheek actually felt from being slapped). Emma was a little bit shocked and immediately demanded why I had just slapped him, I didn't take long to come up with an answer.

"He stole me and my friends from our homes, practically made sure we would be where that bloody portal would be and didn't bother trying to stop us from falling in!"

"I admit I wasn't there as a teacher as I had first said, but that was not why I was there."

"So why were you there then?!"

"To stop you all from falling into a different portal which opened up outside which would have sent you all to an evil witch who wanted your hearts to cast a curse"

"Well… as far as excuses go it's not bad. If all of us fell through the same portal, why aren't all three of us here?"

Emma glanced at Killian, with a look which resembled regret and sorrow; neither of which were things that I needed right now.

"One of your friends fell into another realm, whilst the other… well nobody knows where she is" I felt a mixture of hope and despair filling my heart from her words, Had one of them in fact been taken by this witch who wanted to use us? And if so, who had she captured? Before I could think of anymore bad thoughts, Killian interrupted to say;

"I'm sorry about your friends Aimee, I truly am, Sam and Keegan were lovely girls; and we are going to do everything that is in our power to find them and bring them back here. But until then you're going to have to go to school, work and live here until then. You got it?"

"Yes I've got it, but where will I stay? No-one would want to take care of a random teenager like me"

"That's why you'll be staying and working with Hook." Said Emma. Killian was as perplexed as I was when she said this, and promptly pulled her away out of hearing distance as why it had to be him to care for me. After about five minutes, he returned with a jumper and a towel to stop me from getting hypothermia, which was nice I guess, for he could've given me nothing and let me freeze to death out here. I did everything he asked of me for the rest of the night, for I was too tired to rebel. He had an apartment fairly close to the docks, which was good for me as I just wanted to curl up and sleep everything off.

I awoke the next morning to the boy who I had seen the night before with Killian and Emma attempting to cook breakfast. Killian was nowhere to be seen and it was just the two of us in the flat.

"What's your name; I didn't catch it last night when I woke up here"

"Henry, Do you have any idea why evil witch could want to hurt you and your friends?"

"No I don't know of why this evil witch wants me and my friends, although I was hoping this was all a strange and horrible dream"

"Unfortunately not for you. I personally like being around people from stories. You can find out loads about them without having to know them well in real life"

"So… Where's Killian? I thought he was on babysitting duty"

"He was. But my Mom said that she wanted to meet you and that she would let you stay with her so Hook can discover where your friends have landed"

"Wait… You're saying that Emma isn't your Mother? And why do you all call Killian Hook?"

"Emma is my other Mom, as in she's my biological mother, but Regina is the Mom who raised me for ten years. And we call Killian Hook because that is who he is. He is Captain Hook"

We spent the morning learning a bit more about each other, although I was the one learning more, for I had to pay close detail to which it was I would be staying with when I wasn't with Killian, or some guy called David and his wife Mary-Margaret (Who also happened to be Henry's Grandparents). It turns out she was "The evil queen", a tyrannical ruler back in the enchanted forest, but here she was able to be herself from before Rumpelstiltskin got to her and turned her heart black: Regina. Apparently she was really nice, although some did have trust issues with her still, which was kind of understandable as she didn't get her name from being all happy and smiley (Henry and I both agreed that it was her mother Kora's fault for that).

After lunch, Henry's Mom Regina showed up to come and pick me up to take me to her house which was on the other side of the town. Henry decided to come with us, partly because he wanted to spend time with his Mom, but partly because he had his games consoles and laptop over there as that was his permanent home. The house was all white, with columns at the porch, which made it look more like a mini courthouse rather than a simple home. The insides were modern in their furnishings and quite spacious. Upstairs looked more homely for there were actually colours apart from white, silver and black. My room was the second room on the right, opposite Henry's, and inside it was openly planned: a double bed, a double door wardrobe and some draws. Regina had magically conjured me up an entire wardrobe full of clothes seeing as I wasn't going to be able to get my wardrobe from back home any time soon. Regina wasn't just Henry's Mom, she was also the ex-mayor. This ultimately meant I was going to have to go to school again, just not with Keegan or Sam. Thankfully however, Regina had some news on Keegan- That she was with Rumpelstiltskin and his wife Belle, whom I too would be meeting when they returned from the enchanted forest; there was only one problem with this news however- They still didn't know where Sam was.

"Regina, I'm home!" came a cheery voice of English origins. Henry turned to me and explained that that was Robin, A.K.A Robin Hood, also known as Regina's boyfriend. Along with him came a small child, who was four at most and incredibly curious of whom this new person was in "the white house" as he put it. Robin had been updated on the situation before he arrived, so there was one less person who wanted to question me on practically everything.

"I know you will have heard a lot of people saying this to you Aimee, but do you have any idea why the evil witch would want you and your friends?"

"First one to ask me actually, but I've never heard of the evil witch. Evil queen yes, evil witch no; meaning I have no idea why she wants me and my friends, who I am praying to be alright".

…

The darkness holds me tight and rocks me to sleep, after the searing pain and screaming, its cold is the respite I longed for. Every time I follow the code she knocks me back to the nothingness, the void. She holds such power over my body, but not my heart; despite how she holds it. I will carry on defying her till my last breath. But all these voices and regrets in my head; they'll all be quiet when I am dead.

Chapter Four: Keegan

I awoke once more in the guest bedroom, with a rather concerned Rumpelstiltskin and Belle looking over me. As it happened, it wasn't Rumple who knocked me unconscious, but rather the one who I had basically been rescued from: The evil witch. Once I had come to properly, Rumple looked like he wanted to either hurl me out of the window, or kill me. Either way whatever was about to happen, I knew it wasn't good.

"Do you remember anything from before you fell unconscious Saphira? "Said Belle, with the kind of worry on her face that you would expect a parent to have.

"I remember sitting with you both at the table, Rumple saying that there was a possibility that my friends were probably dead, then nothing". I realised once I had said this that it wasn't what they wanted to hear. I was guessing that they thought I had heard something from the Evil Witch, to make me pass out like that. Or that some form of spell had been placed on me. I'm guessing Rumple had a form of mind reading power, for he said  
"It's not a curse or spell that's been placed on you dearie- but rather, it's been lifted. For something very strange happened to you a long time ago- just as I suspect it had for your friends. But rather than being pulled into a strange kingdom, you've been brought home"

"But that's impossible, we are all from that world, we can all tell you precisely where and when we were born. Our past is there"

"Well look again dearie, and tell us what you see." I got up out of bed to clamber over to the mirror, which had been covered since I had woken up, but as soon as I got out of the bed, I noticed one clear difference- I had almost lost half my body weight. Something that couldn't happen normally- not without serious illness anyway. As I got over to the mirror, I glanced over my shoulder to see what Belle and Rumple were doing. In that glance, I could see them holding hands and looking at me as if to say go on, you've got to see what we can. I was almost afraid of what I would see in the mirror, who would I see? Would I see myself, or would I see something or someone else? I mean, every other part of me was different, my body, my hands, and my hair was definitely different, for it was softer, less curly and a fair bit longer.

As I pulled off the cloth that was once draped over the mirror, I couldn't help but gasp. In front of me, instead of my reflection, I could see a beautiful young lady, who bore remarkable resemblance both Belle and Rumpelstiltskin. For I had Belle's beauty, and Rumple's eyes, but none of it made any sense. For the last time I had looked at that mirror, I had seen myself, not her. As I turned to Belle and Rumple, I realised why they looked at me as if I was their own- it was because I was their child. I wasn't entirely sure how that was even remotely possible, for Belle had said they had only been married a year. If I was their child, I would've only just been born- let alone sixteen.

"I know this must be hard for you Saphira, but this is where you belong. We don't know who it was who took you from us not so long ago, yet lived for sixteen years when for us it has only been a month. It's as confusing for you as it is for us. But what we can say is that we are so glad that you are finally home". Belle's words hit me like a sword being stabbed into my heart multiple times. To say that my whole life practically had been a lie, that everyone who knew me only knew a pile of lies. Lies that I had been fed and fed others with my entire life. This made me wonder- was this the same for the others? Were they too different people to what we had ever known? Had this evil queen planned for us to even meet each other, and become so close? So many questions ran through my mind, more than my mind could obviously handle for I could feel my whole body just collapsing beneath me. I didn't want to black out again. Not when I had just discovered that I had a family here, and a home. I just wanted to know.

…

The pain of mine and the fire of magic burn my heart with my every defiance- my eyes now gone show a new path, new memories that should never have even existed. She tells me to be quiet which makes me only sing louder. Although I am so alone, all these voices in my head, they all want me dead.

Chapter five: Aimee

As I lay awake that night, I realised that I may never see Keegan or Sam again. I mean, I enjoy staying with Regina and Henry, but they weren't Sam or Keegan. I would never be able to do something as simple as play videogames with them, or mess around when we watched a Barcelona match. I would never have those moments ever again, maybe with Keegan, but never with Sam. I could feel that Keegan was still safe, I may not know where she is, but I could just tell she was all right. Just as Sam was able to tell whenever I was in trouble, I could feel that now. I could feel that Sam **was** in trouble; but my thoughts would have to wait till the morning, for tomorrow I would see everyone in the town, and some answers would be answered, and perhaps some more questions- generally directed to me for everyone believes that I know something and I'm not saying. What I will tell them is what I know. That Keegan is somewhere and is safe, but Sam was in trouble somewhere. I just had to hope that they would believe me.

The next morning I woke to see a rather distressed Killian at my bedside- so… something similar to how I actually awoke here. However something was different. I felt like some form of weight had been lifted from my chest, but it wasn't something I had known was there. When I glanced over to Killian, the reflection in his eyes was different. Instead of being filled with his danger loving "I'm going to do everything that you tell me not to do" eyes, they were filled with worry and fear. Also his left hand was missing again. That's when I realised something; I was still at Regina's! What was Killian doing here?

"Killian, what are you doing here? This is Regina's house, not your apartment at the port"

"Regina asked me to come over, when you weren't waking up, well… we were all a bit scared for you. And I think we had reason to"

"What are you talking about? You're making no sense"

"Just once you've gotten up, check the mirror". And just like that he left me to my own devices. I had no-idea what he was talking about, for I felt fine. I didn't feel weird or anything; maybe a little bit taller but that was about it. I was too tired to even bother disobeying Killian, which didn't make any sense for I was usually able to create some funny remarks, even after I had just woken up- Sam could back me up on that from our half asleep remark battles that would occur every time we had a sleepover. Let's just say Keegan was never impressed by this. I went about my new daily routine as if it were a relatively normal day. Had I not had my hair up I would've noticed sooner that it was now blonde and regally curly rather than brown and straight that would never curl even in the rain. The mirror had steamed up just so perfectly that I could just about see my hairline (now blonde rather than brown) which meant that it wasn't for a few minutes until I saw what it was Killian had been so worried about. My entire face had changed, from an averagely pretty teenager to a drop dead gorgeous young woman who could probably kick your ass if she so desired. I'm guessing whatever happened to give these events must've knocked me out which would've caused slight concern to those around me. I decided I wouldn't think about it for the rest of the day because all thoughts regarding just made my head hurt.

Once I was dressed I proceeded downstairs, not expecting what lay before me. A now unconscious Killian lay at the bottom of the stairs, with a lady standing above him.

"Oh Killian. Always so quick to defend those around you- just like when I tried to take dear Mila from you. But now I have your heart for the curse I am going to cast. It's not the one I wanted, but I will get Aimee's heart soon enough, for even your heroics cannot save her. As for the other one, well I'll just have to wait for Rumpelstiltskin to slip up on his regime of keeping her under lock and key. And the best part is you're in a sleeping curse which will probably not get broken because no one really loves you, meaning you cannot ever stop me. Enjoy suffocating to death in your coffin Killian. I look forward to having you as my personal slave." She turned to me with eyes of a hawk which generally meant that the bearer generally had it in for me.

"I will come for you again, and if anyone is with you, I shall kill them, just as I am doing to your precious Killian. Oh, and tell Miss Swan I said hello". As she turned to go towards the door; she laughed as if she would win, which was most likely true for I could barely fend for myself, which was partly how Sam and I became friends. I had local knowledge whilst she had fighting capabilities as well as many other useful qualities (such as intelligence, how to win an argument, how to escape from practically anything, how to ride horses, how to sail… the list was practically endless). I was now alone in this haunted house, with the stone cold body of Killian Jones, Captain Hook, whatever you wanted to call him. And he was now dying because of me, but just as I turned to exit the building and run as fast as I could towards the town hall where everybody was, I was struck down into the very same curse that had been laid onto Killian.

Chapter six: Killian

I awoke that morning to my phone ringing, from Regina. I didn't realise that she had my number.

"Regina why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?"

"Killian get over here; I don't know what to do!"

"What's the problem and why are you calling me about it?" I said yawning.

"You know Aimee better than I do, and she's not waking up. At all. I've had the doctor over and Gold and neither know what's going on. Gold reckons it's a curse- just get over here and see for yourself!" she screamed down the phone before abruptly hanging up. Her screaming left me with a headache- it was too early for this. Although I didn't know what was wrong with Aimee so I knew I should check for Emma, so I would do so (anything for her, she is practically the only thing on my mind lately). I promptly got ready and left my make-shift apartment on the docks- which happened to be on the other side of town to Regina's house, so I decided to jog over to get there faster.

On arriving I could see the doctor's and the crocodile's car (I may have forgiven him for cutting off my hand, but the name still sticks.) sitting in the driveway. The door was wedged open slightly- not much, but enough for me to know there was a big argument going on inside those white walls. Stepping inside I was ambushed by Roland (Robin Hood's son) and given a hug. This usually only happened when someone (In this case Regina and Hood) were arguing. His small frame was practically shaking from crying and just wanted someone to hold onto and that someone was usually me.

"Do you know what's going on here Roland?"

"My daddy's arguing with Regina again" he sobbed. He hated it when his parents argued, whichever mother it happened to involve. I gave the dwarfs a call and had them look after him whilst I figured out what was going on. Stepping into the living room was more like stepping into the middle of an armada- just as my brother and I had once fought in for the navy.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" I yelled, and sure as it was, it got their attention.

"Now, will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"These two can't agree on what is wrong with her" Regina said whilst pointing upstairs.

"Do you mind if I can have a look?"

"Go ahead" said the crocodile "You'll agree with me without me using magic- it's a curse of some kind"

"No, he'll agree with me- it's exhaustion! She has been through a lot of physical and mental trauma over the last few days!"

"I'll agree with whoever is bloody right, oh and Robin? You may want to get your son back from the dwarfs he kind of ran out and I had the pick him up". During me saying this Robin went pale as he realised that Roland was indeed, not with him, and quickly left to go and find the dwarfs. I turned to Regina, who rather than being her normal, "I'm the boss of this town and you will do as I say" was more relating to Emma in a way- as a concerned parent (despite the fact that she had only had Aimee for two nights. Or perhaps she was wondering if whatever had gotten to Aimee would get to Henry too. Whatever it was however, I wasn't going to ask, for I had to check on Aimee and see what all the fuss was about).

Upon reaching Aimee's door, I could see a faint purple glow emanating from the bedroom, and when I opened the door, I could see that this glow; was coming from Aimee herself. That's weird, I thought to myself, surely they could have seen this purple gas around her? And why hadn't they mentioned it earlier? Unless they couldn't see it and I was the only one which could have possibly meant I was hallucinating the purple mist which was getting thicker and thicker by the minute. The mist was short lived however- as soon as I had seen it thicken to the point I couldn't see, it dispersed and revealed something that worried me slightly. On the bed where Aimee should have been, was someone else. She was similar to Aimee as in the fact her bodily structure was almost identical, just taller. Her hair was a soft light blonde- similar to Emma's, but a little curlier; and her face was completely different, so different in fact that if you placed the two in the same room you would've thought them to have no relation, apart from maybe the height and stature .

"Where could Aimee have gone I wonder" I said quietly to myself, for if the other came up to find someone completely different to whom they had seen earlier, they would possibly kill me on site without any questions. It wasn't till I was about to leave that I noticed something. Something only Aimee had and couldn't actually take off- a bracelet with a few ships and flowers on it, the same bracelet that she had had on when Aimee arrived in Storybrooke. That was when I realised how stupid I had been- This was Aimee! Indeed magic had been used, but rather than it being cursed onto her, it was being taken off. I instantly turned around to go downstairs to tell Regina, the Croc and the Dr what was actually going on with Aimee, and how we had all been looking at it wrongly. Gold was the first one to question what I had seen to make me see it- so I told them of the purple mist that had surrounded her. Gold and Regina turned to each other, equally confused for a change. After hearing that he wasn't needed, Dr Whale turned to leave the house and its magical inhabitants, which was possibly one of the wisest decisions he had ever made. Regina ran upstairs to go see what I had meant by the fact that Aimee was now this beautiful young lady rather than being an averagely pretty young lady; meaning the crocodile and I were left by ourselves.

"I believe that it is time Killian."

"For what?" I asked puzzled, although I knew full damn well what he was asking for. A deal had been made with him to reattach my hand (at Miss Swans request this time however). But this deal was of a temporary nature- I would have it for the duration of the rescue of the girls then I would have it taken off again.

"Oh you know what. Now hold your arm out so I can get this over with".

"And there was me thinking you would just use magic again. Any particular reason that you want me to be in pain again?"

"I have plenty of reasons to want to place you in pain, but today I cannot use magic for the hand has been on for too long for it to be taken off with magic"

"Fine, just stop the bleeding once you've done it- I don't believe that Regina would be happy if you left a bright red bloody mess in her home". Slower than I wanted it to be, the crocodile took my hand once more, leaving me with little more than a stump (He healed the arm part so there wouldn't be a mess or I wouldn't bleed to death). Upon his face was almost pure enjoyment, for he had placed me in pain again and had my hand which he could still use to get what he wanted when it was needed back.

At this point Regina returned downstairs to see Gold hold my decapitated hand and me probably looking like I had been stabbed or something along those lines. She just looked at us as if to say you better not have left a mess or you'll both be dead. Regina asked for me to stay and watch over Aimee whilst she and Gold told Emma what was going on. A little while later Aimee woke up, more confused about why I was sitting at the end of her bed looking like I had had no sleep and where everyone else was. Although I knew that Aimee was alright, something still felt wrong and I just couldn't place it. Once I left Aimee to get ready, I found out part of what wasn't right- the door which Regina had locked behind her now was now wide open. As quietly as I could I drew my sword- I had a feeling that I would need it for whoever was down the stairs. I was hoping that my gut instinct was wrong, but as always, it was right. There was indeed someone who shouldn't have been there standing in the lounge at the bottom of the stairs. A woman who I knew too well for bad things, was standing there, expectant of my arrival.

"Either your little sixth sense is getting slower Killian, or I'd say that I finally managed to get past your little defences"

"What are you doing here, Evil Witch"

"Oh that is really no way to talk to me Killian" she said whilst throwing me back to the bottom of the stairs, leaving me winded and what felt to be like a broken back. "You should know by now that whatever you do; I will always triumph leaving you in the dust. Now you're out of my way I can get what I came here for"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that you bitch"

"Oh still playing the brave sailor soldier you once were, how adorable. You may have fought in wars and armadas before, but you have never fought against something that can't be controlled. So if I were you I would just step aside like a good pirate and leave me be"

"I can't let you do that…"my sentence was broken up by the sensation of a hand around my heart, it's cold fingers and sharp talons threatening to inflict pain at any moment.

"Well, seeing as you won't let me get who I came for, I'll just take you and your heart instead!" Ripping my heart out of my chest may have been fun for her- but incredibly painful on my end.

"Aimee's cursed heart was all I required, but if I place a curse on your heart, it will be just as good". She stepped away from my body which I could no longer feel, I could just about move my head, yet I could not speak. Holding my heart at arm's length, she blew a curse over my beating heart, and sent me into what I knew was a sleeping curse. I knew this curse from David and Henry's descriptions of it. A red room with no windows, and curtains that were on fire. From what I could see there were no doors, just a mirror propped up against the far wall.

"Killian!" I heard screamed at me from beyond the fire.

"Aimee?! What are you doing here?" Her face was filled with fear and confusion, leaving her practically hyperventilating.

"She cursed me same as you!" she said, her voice quivering with every word

"Hold on tight to your soul, keep your hands in the portal and enjoy the ride" Said a girl who I recognised yet could not place. Once she spoke Aimee fell down what looked to be another portal- but not the same one we fell through at the beginning nearly six months ago  
"What did you do to Aimee?!" I yelled over the fire

"I sent her back to bloody Storybrooke you great idiot, oh and I'll put out the fires if you say my name" I had to think for a minute to try and think of every one whom I had ever encountered; but as soon as I realised who she was, a sly smile broke out on her face.

"Sam?!" As soon as I said her name, just as she said, the fires went out._ I know you can hear me, use your thought to talk to me rather than your voice in here _Sam said in my head. My confusion was clearly evident for she just stood there and laughed at me. _How did you send Aimee back to Storybrooke? Can you send me back too?_ I asked. _I sent Aimee back for her body and heart were still in Storybrooke, but waking you up wouldn't be useful for anyone seeing as you're in the same cell I am_. Sam disappeared through the mirror and motioned for me to follow, although upon stepping through, I could see why Sam hadn't sent me back. For below us lay our bodies; more like corpses at that moment in time.

"You look very different here, in body and soul. It's why I didn't recognise you instantly"

"Funny, for I recognised you and Aimee straight away. Do she and Keegan blame me?"

"Blame you? Blame you for what? All you hasn't everything you've done for them been good?"

"At the portal, when we were being sent to our retrospective places in this world, I let go of them. When I saw the Evil Witch coming to grab me, I could only assume that it for malicious purposes, so; I let go of them in the hope that she wouldn't harm them"

"Well, neither of them realise I think, for Aimee can't remember what happened in the vortex, or the six months that she was missing for. As for Keegan, I haven't seen her in person. The only ones who have are Rumpelstiltskin and Belle. It's quite fitting seeing as she is their daughter"

"Well, don't tell them. If I died and they found out that I had abandoned them without telling them why, they would no longer see me as the person that they knew and would see me as a coward instead"

After that, Sam didn't answer any of my questions fully, and proceeded to show me where we could and couldn't tread. She explained to me how the mirrors that we were in were enchanted, but not all of them were enchanted meaning we couldn't go everywhere in the castle. After showing me the castle she decided we should go to the mirrors on the battlements, so she could tell me what had happened to her in the six months she had been gone.

"Well… going from the beginning, what exactly happened to you? I mean your body didn't look like it was in the best of shapes"  
"Yeah, my meat sack has been through a lot recently. When I first got here, I was kept in a regular set of chambers, with a bed and everything, then the witch told me why I was here, and I refused. The curse she was planning to re-enact was terrible- to take away magic from three of her most powerful enemies; Rumpelstiltskin, The Evil Queen, and someone called the Saviour. As soon as I said no, she banged me up in the dungeons, where I decided that I would do everything else that wasn't doing as I was told. To say the least she wasn't impressed. When she told me to be quiet I only sang louder. And for every beating, a laugh instead of a scream. Some of her methods of inducing pain were worse than others; for instance, she likes crushing the heart till it's practically dust, then puts it back together again- over and over she would do it .That went on for about four months, so last month, everything around here started to change. She started to prepare for the curse, placed me under a sleeping curse, and had the guards all leave the dungeons in case of her getting so annoyed with the spell that she would accidentally curse them into other, less desirable forms. She started collecting parts of me she needed for the curse, such as my hair, eyes and heart. I mean, being in a sleeping curse hasn't been so bad, I've had the most freedom since I got here, I don't feel the pain the she inflicted on my meat sack, but I can't feel stupid things, like the wind on my face when I used to sail, or the sun on my back when it was out"

"You were a sailor? And why does she want your eyes and hair?"

"Portsmouth pirate, through and through. And no idea, she didn't leave me anything to read up on anything about this curse she intends to set"

"Haven't seen another Portsmouth pirate since I left there about three hundred years ago"

"You're telling me that you are almost three hundred years old? Jesus that's old"

"Well age has its benefits, I have had more experiences than there are stars in the sky- I flown a ship to a land where time has stopped, I have sailed between realms which I never knew even existed, fought a giant with the saviour… then proceeded to fall in love with her"

"You're in love with the saviour? Does she love you back?"

"That's where it gets complicated"

"I have time to spare". Seeing as Sam had shared with me all her experiences from this hell hole, I decided I would tell her about Storybrooke, and Emma and Henry and everyone else who mattered. She sat captivated, for she hadn't heard anything from anyone, be they old or be they young. I also explained why my relationship with Emma was so difficult. She just laughed at that one and said she would like to meet this Emma and create awkward situations for her until she admitted what she felt for me. I laughed back and told her if we got out of here and were both alive, I would introduce her to everyone and let her be hilarious and create awkward situations for everyone. This included me which I wasn't too happy about. As the sun finally set, we made our way back inside, for we could hear the witches voice reverberating along the mirror, screaming about us not being where she wanted us to be. This didn't faze Sam in the slightest, and she took a slow walk down to the dungeons, where the witch indeed was awaiting our arrival.

"Where have you two been?"

"Everywhere that hasn't had you there" Sam spoke out. I observed as the witch proceeded to crush her heart and place it back together again, just as Sam had said.

"You should know by now what the punishments for being late or not where I want you to be are"

"Well I'm not exactly psychic you know" this argument made of the witch yelling and Sam having a great comeback went on for about twenty minutes, give or take a few. This just made the Evil Witch even angrier. I took the time that the witch and Sam were distracted to take a closer look at my surrounds and Sam herself. She had gone from being an average looking girl to one that was beautiful yet screamed I could murder you if I so please- essentially a really good looking pirate to everyone else. It was then I had realised that there was a possibility that Sam could be related to someone who looked like me, me she had the same kind of hair, a tall, thin and muscular structure. The only thing was she was impossibly skinny from having next to no food for six months. I thought to myself, if only I could see her actual eyes, instead of the gold ones her soul was sporting. _How did your eyes on your soul go gold, and bits of your hair too? _

_One of the witches more long term punishments, for every good deed I do of any sort, I become bit by bit, more like solid gold. It's not fun, because I will follow the code till my end which isn't what she wants._

I could understand what Sam was saying about defying the witch, but doing it till it killed her wasn't what I wanted either. She caught onto my thoughts and told me it was alright, for it was better than whatever the witch had planned for her. I allowed my sadness to fill the link between us, and she felt it. I decided to turn my attention to our corpses which were thrown across the back wall. Looking at myself asleep/unconscious was weird, for every feeling that I felt, there was no response at all. It was basically dead under this curse, and the worst thing was I couldn't wake up for I needed true loves kiss to wake me up. The only thing was my true love was in another realm and may not even love me back the way I love her. My attention was quickly drawn to the witch again, for she had picked up a knife which wasn't too dissimilar to the crocodiles. Upon further inspection, I could see that it was curved in the same way that the dark one's knife was, but was laced with gold rather than black, and the metal was red rather than silver. The witch turned towards my corpse, and raised her knife towards my head; to take my hair and blood, meaning once I woke up I would still be able to see, unlike Sam. Her body was mutilated, bruised, and emaciated; and there were streaks of blood down her face from where her eyes had been removed for the curse. I wanted to have a closer look at what the witch was doing, and where Sam has disappeared to, but before I could look to either, I heard and impossible voice. A voice that has not spoken for almost three hundred years. For I had heard the voice of my brother.

Chapter seven: Keegan/Saphira

I awoke once more to a concerned Rumpelstiltskin and Belle above me.

"I need to stop waking up like this"

"I would certainly agree with you on this one Saphira" spoke Rumple kindly;

"I have seen your friend Aimee, she is safe in Storybrooke. Your other friend however… well…"

"Well what?"

"Nobody knows where she is or what condition she is in" I could feel my heart sinking within my chest. Sam was the glue of our group; whenever Aimee and I argued, it was always Sam who broke it up and got it sorted out. She the leader of our pack, Aimee was the beautiful one and me? I don't even know what part of the group I came into, I was just kind of there, with next to no skills, average intelligence, and qualities that generally made me wonder why Sam would ever want to be friends with someone like me when she could have anybody in the entire world as her best friend. And I knew I would miss her like hell now even more- just by thinking that she could be already dead- although in my heart, I could feel that her heart had stopped, so it was more like common knowledge to me now. Then I thought, _how the hell did Rumple get to Storybrooke to find this out? Was it possible for him to take me there? If so, why were Belle and I still here?_

"Have you figured a way to get Saphira and me out of this world and back to our home in Storybrooke yet? She can't have blocked every single type of portal to us" Said Belle, for it seemed like she wanted to get back as much as I did.

"My dear Belle, I am still searching. It does seem like she has found a way to block you from all the different types of portals, although there is one I haven't tried yet- The Atlantian trench, it's somewhere south of Evil Witches castle, but it may still be open to us all"

"So why haven't we left here yet to go and find it?" I chimed in.

"It's not that simple see dearie, the Evil Witch wants you badly, and knows we would have to go right past her castle, and then we would have to spend a couple of days in port trying to find someone with knowledge of the Atlantian trench's location and with the stupidity of trying to go through it, for the only ship that is able to go through it without being destroyed is missing. Within the time that would all take, she would get her hands on you or Belle, or even worse you both."

"What is the name of this ship? Sam mentioned a lot of ships to me once and told me tell-tale signs of how to know if they've passed through- especially if it was a really old ship, say around 300 years old"

"Funny you should say that, for the ship we are looking for is the Jolly Roger…"

"That ship was built in the early 1700's, Its captain was called William Jones, and it was navigated by his younger brother" Rumple and Belle both stood up and were in awe of how I knew all of this, I knew it for one of Sam's ancestors had worked on and sailed on that ship, she even had a journal from her ancestor telling tales of the Jolly Rogers adventures, be it in armadas or be it exploring, there wasn't much about that ship that she didn't know.

"Did she ever mention what the younger brother was called?" Of course he had to ask me the one question that I cannot remember the answer to. If I had known I would need that information I would've paid more attention to her ramblings.

"Probably, but I can't remember his name. It's the one thing I can't remember about that ship, I can remember that they had a Pegasus sail on their last voyage, but the name of the younger brother I just cannot place"

"Does the name Killian Jones ring a bell?" Killian Jones- That was the name of the supply teacher we had on that last day! Did he have a connection to the Jolly Roger? (It would make sense for when he said his name in the car that fateful morning it did ring a bell). That's when I remembered, Killian Jones was indeed the name of the younger brother! He was celebrated for the fact he could look at any star chart and be able to remember it fully and use it to navigate the ship. It was also said he could do the same for sheet music and play it, but I couldn't remember if that was true or not.

"Yes, Killian Jones was the name of the younger brother also that was the name of the teacher who was dragged through the portal with us that day"

"Not a teacher dearie, but a pirate. We sent him to make sure that you wouldn't fall into the hands of the Evil Witch. We don't know where you were for those unknown six months, but something tells me you went on an adventure" That made me think. What if I had been with Aimee and Sam for those six months? Or maybe even for just a part of it- either way I was happier, for I probably had seen them both since that fateful day at school. And this Jones character was he really pushing 300? I mean, the guy barely looked a day over 30, let alone 300. If he had indeed been a pirate, then why was he A) Trying to help us and B) How in the name of Lucifer did he know chemistry to a standard that he could teach?

"If he's a pirate, why was he able to teach?" I questioned, my "Father" (in the slackest way- I have only been his kid for like a day or two, so I won't be calling him dad anytime soon), and he just smiled.

"I cursed him with another person's memories, someone who had a PHD in chemistry and could teach to a standard to be at your resident school" I didn't know whether to be shocked or surprised, for I had discovered in my mind, another set of memories; Saphira's memories. The particular memory which was bothering me was something she had read- that a curse like that generally killed the person who was having their memories stolen, and even after the memories and sometimes name had been returned, occasionally the person wouldn't come back. So I did something I probably shouldn't have done. I ran head first into a magic mirror and watched as my surroundings changed into a red room without windows; and fire infernal everywhere.

My surroundings were hot as I realised where I was- I was in the realm which laid between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Why did I have to know all of this? Why did Saphira have to go and read every magical book she could lay her hands on- even when the contents disturbed her? As I calmed myself, the fires around me died down to reveal another mirror on the other side of the room. Upon further inspection, I could see that the mirror was almost cracked in places, the way an old window looked when it had been moved too much or been in a storm.

I jumped back when a person stepped through the mirror towards me, she was perfectly scaled in every proportion, and jet black hair that curled perfectly around her stature. Her face seemed similar yet distant to me- probably for the fact that her eyes were golden, with some traces of gold in her hair if you looked hard enough.

"Take your time Keegan, still waiting for you to say my name"  
"That's impossible, you were dead! I could feel your heart stop!"

"Yeah, just FYI, your families sixth sense is a little bit shabby and inaccurate at the best of times" _Every thought you have had in here I have heard- you didn't want to recognise me at all; you accepted me as dead when I am anything but dead. I still live to defy, fighting for you and Aimee…_

"You've seen her? Is she Okay? Is she still alive?"

_Enough bloody questions, and speak through your mind, you don't want her to hear you and capture you; do you now? And in answer to your question about Aimee, yes I have seen her. She was cursed as I was, as Killian was; as you will be if you stay too long. But before the Evil Witch could do anything about it- I sent her back to Storybrooke to be with her Uncle, Aunt and cousins who happen to reside there now after a curse was set there ages ago. Killian; the fake teacher from that last day is here with me now- he was protecting Aimee when the Witch stole his heart and his body, cursed him and stuck him here with me. I mean he's alright once you get to know him- anything before that and he can seem a bit like a dick to anyone who isn't a pirate._

_Guessing that you had no problem fitting in here with him then? I mean sometimes you could be more of a pirate than a person_

_Wait… are you telling me that you don't remember our little adventure? The ship? Neverland? You remember nothing about that? For on that adventure we discussed this and found a few things about the version of me for this realm and set of worlds _

_No I don't; although that would explain how I have been missing for six months whilst I've been here. What did we find out about you though?_

It turned out that we had had quite the adventure in those six months. We (and by "We" I mean Sam) had been given the Jolly Roger, and we had found the original Pegasus sail and used it to fly the entire ship to Neverland. To say the least Killian (Who I now knew to be Captain Hook and was in fact her father in this world) was not impressed by us commandeering the ship to Neverland and back, but in all fairness he was also happy about it because his brother who had been dead for close to 300 years was back with him. We sat in a room which looked down into the dungeons to where Killian and Sam's bodies were being kept- but however dank and miserable the dungeons were; this land in the mirrors was warm and friendly. Inside were all the people who had either been dragged in or saved by Killian and Sam, or they had been cursed and had gone through the mirror in the red room. Everyone exchanged stories, tales and adventures of the past, and sometimes they would talk of what they were going to do once they left this god forsaken castle. Killian, Sam and Liam (Killian's brother and now Sam's Uncle) were going to go to Storybrooke and try and live normally. That was when Killian and the others broke into a song- Even though I couldn't catch all of the words- I could make out the chorus;-

_Her name was Swan and her heart was gold;_

_I am her jolly Sailor Jolt_ Killian would sing, and then everyone else would sing back to him;

_He's fought the wind and the seven seas,_

_But when he gets home to the port of her, the Jolly Sailor Jolt dances_

Despite what all these people had been through, the torture that they had endured- they were all managing to keep smiling. For together they were stronger, and could defy the Evil Witch all day, whereas only two people in the castle could defy her on their own- Sam and Killian. Upon talking to the others who Sam now knew well, I could make out that nothing had changed her rebellious nature; I chuckled to myself_\- Ha! That Witch evidently didn't make a good choice of prisoner, for Sam had that special attitude which attacked everything that came to destroy it, and usually defeating that danger for everyone. That Witch wouldn't stand a chance against Sam, or Sam would just drive her insane to the point of Sam winning (which was what was generally already happening)_

My thoughts were interrupted by Killian coming over and asking to sit with me, despite him having a seat with Sam and Liam on the other side.

"How long have you known Sam, Saphira?" Killian asked- presumably to see whether I could be trusted or not.

"A few months- but it was long enough to know that we were quite good friends by the end of it"

_She speaks highly of you- when she's not majorly pissing off the Evil Witch or my brother Liam. She likes him as much as she liked her own brother- will piss him off as much as possible but she loves him really. Same goes with you and Aimee, she loves you both in her own weird way of friendships, and even though the things she says can be hurtful, it's just because of what she has been through lately._

"Saphira… It's time. You must go now if you want to keep out the Witches grasp for more than one millisecond; it's been nice but you have to leave" spoke Sam solemnly.

"Can you show me the way out? I mean getting in was easy enough but I don't know what I did to go through the mirror"

"Run through the magic mirror in the red room whilst thinking of the mirror you came through originally" said Sam as her last piece of advice._ Sounds easy enough, but what do I say to my parents when I get out? Oh yeah hi forgot about you guys I was just chilling in a magic mirror with my friend who you said was dead to me not that long ago. I'll be in a corner somewhere in this castle to be alone for a little while and to figure out what the hell I just saw._

Getting out of the mirror was as easy it was getting in. I was surprised that neither of my parents were on the other side of the mirror. _They probably forgot I even existed, although I can't have been that long_. I knew this for there wasn't any dust in this immaculately kept castle. I explored the castle for a suitable place to sit and mull my thoughts over, somewhere that wasn't my room for they would now I was there the instant that I entered the room. My wanderings didn't last long, for as I entered the dining room, where Rumple generally did his deals, I found the almost dead body of my father. He was bleeding badly from his stomach, and had many bruises everywhere else. I managed to conjure up one of Saphira's memories- a healing spell, one strong enough that could possibly save him. And save him it did. He awoke not long after I cast the spell. As it happened, he and Belle had been looking for me; but it was lucky that not even he could find me. For if he had been able to find me; so could the Evil Witch. She had been in the short time that I had been gone- ironic for I had been in her castle sitting with her prisoners. Rumple didn't know whether to tell me off or congratulate me on that feat, but it didn't change the fact that she now had Belle at her disposal for the curse. Rumple had managed to figure out what the curse needed, and discovered that all she had needed for it was either me or Belle; and now that she had Belle, the curse could go on and destroy him, somebody called the Saviour and the Evil Queen. To say the least she had big plans didn't even cover it up.

Rumple refused to talk to me for the rest of the evening- it was almost as if he blamed me personally for what had happened to Belle. The only question of mine he did answer was what the curse did and what it needed.

"It is a curse which will take away all magical abilities from the chosen enemies- even me. After the magical abilities are taken away, the caster can then steal the hearts of her enemies and gain the powers that they hold. She needed a few things for this curse; and the people needed to have some form of fitting together with their properties. She needed the heart and eyes of the leader, the heart and a possession from the cursed, then the heart of the beautiful and some of their hair. Your friend Sam was the leader, Belle was the beautiful, but the one thing I don't know is who she has for the cursed heart-"  
"She has Killian in place of Aimee. Killian told me that himself" My words sent my father into a state of surprise- Killian was the last person he had thought of that could've been viable for the curse.

From here I knew, I knew that I was going to have to find a way to save Belle, Killian and Sam. I didn't exactly know how- but I knew then; this was what I was brought here to do.

…

"Oh great, now she has all the parts that she needs for the curse. How did you even get captured Belle? Was the Crocodile not with you?" I said;

"Of course he was Killian! He was wounded badly by the Witch the last time I saw him"

"Look you can all stop bloody arguing- the Witch has everything that she needs for the curse and the likely hood is that she is going to do it sooner rather than later. Your husband has just under a day to come and rescue you" spoke Sam boldly- it still hadn't sunk in that in this world she was my daughter, whilst in the other world she was actually are descendant of Liam's. To say the least her family tree was getting just about as complicated as Henry's. What worried me the most was that after the next sundown, I would be dead and I would never be able to hold Emma in my arms again, or teach Henry how to sail again. I only had the hope that the Crocodile did in fact come and get his wife back.

"That's very specific of you, why only a day? It could take him longer than that to get here and free me" Belle said defensively- whenever something involved her husband she had a temper that could kill a thousand men if they weren't careful. And the people who were in the firing line just happened to be me and my incredibly dysfunctional family.

" It's just under a day because that's the soonest that she can cast the curse- she's been delayed a lot, meaning that if she doesn't cast the curse next sundown, she will have to wait nearly two thousand years to cast it again. If she can be stalled till then we could get away and the curse wouldn't be cast- but if nobody from outside can help us within that time slot, well…. You may as well push away any hopes and dreams of a life outside this hell hole"

Chapter eight: Sam

The day is fast approaching now. The Evil Witch has captured someone who can take Keegan's place, her mother in this land; Belle. Killian and Belle knew each other from the other world, the world where we would all rather be. My body is beaten and broken in places, but it is not alone anymore; for Killian and Belle are with me too- good for I now have company, bad because the curse can now be cast. Since the outside world has seen me, I have changed a lot. My once brown short-ish hair was now jet black, long and curly (This I didn't mind at all), I was slightly taller, meaning even though Aimee and I had both grown a bit, I was still taller. I was covered from head to toe in scars- both from the Evil Witch and my adventure from before I was captured. I looked a lot like Killian now, and as it happened, in this world, in this parallel universe; I was his daughter. All I have is him, and the ship which was given to me. A ship which was pushing 300 years old (Just as my father was), and was once under command of Killian and Liam, the famous Jones brothers- each with pirate abilities that were individual in comparison to the rest of the league. Liam, followed in their father's footsteps for he had the strength of a thousand bulls when he wanted to;- Killian however had an ability which until then, had never been seen before- the ability to move at the speed of light, but it was uncontrollable at times, making him not want to use it at all.

But however talented everyone one was in this prison- we were useless. For the Jones brothers to be able to get everyone out of here they needed to be together; instead they were in opposite cells. I long for the respite of the mirrors, for there I didn't feel all the pain that has been inflicted on my body- the hunger from months of starvation, the bruises and breaks from one way fights with the Witch. The only thing that I can see in this cell is Killian and Belle- My father and the missing piece of the curse. We only had till sundown that was unless someone came for Belle- and I intended to spend my last hours on the battlements.

_Killian, follow me; I don't know about you, but I'm not spending my final hours stuck in this room. The battlements? I'll race you there?_

_Sounds good, let's take Belle too, it's bad enough being stuck down here without hope- for all we know she could be able to spot him_

_Why not me? I'm a pirate like you! Spotting impossible things happens to be our specialty._

_Yes but we need an excuse to get her up here. She shouldn't be left in the Witches dungeon for long._

_Fine._

It took less time than I anticipated to get Belle into the mirrors (discovering new kinds of magic was normal for her; her husband is The Dark One for god's sake), once she was in we made our way to our improvised crow's nest of the castle, the battlements that faced south towards the port- also the battlements that were on the same side of the gate. We were not alone, for we also had my uncle, Liam with us. He and Killian had spent so much time apart that they barely knew who each other were. Killian had been shaped by his experience from the past 300 years, whereas Liam was the same as how he was when he died- something that Killian had forgotten over time.

The four of us sat upon the highest battlement, underneath the shining sun. From this vantage point you could see the fells that created a V shape that led to the port. The fells shone in more colours than could be counted underneath the mid-morning sunlight, making the dull yet spectacular port stand out by a mile. The port was smaller than it was when I got here, partly because the Evil Witch had destroyed two thirds of it when she had been chasing me. My boat (or any other Jones, however you wanted to look at it), The Jolly Rodger bobbed gently in the tide in its mooring. Killian and Liam spend a few hours exchanging stories, whilst I listened and Belle looked for her family. Belle told me tales of a land I once knew well- the modern one. The town was the same as Killian had told me- Storybrooke. It was a small fishing town in Maine, America; but all its inhabitants were either from the stories that you are told when you are a child, or related to them. It turned out half the town was related by some way or another- and Henry had the most relatives. Upon asking who this Henry was, Killian and Liam instantly stopped to listen to Belle and her story of Henry. Henry was the son of the saviour, grandson of Snow White, Prince Charming, Rumpelstiltskin, and Belle, great nephew of Aimee, adoptive son of Killian, Great grandson of Peter Pan and finally, the son of Baelfire- Rumple's son. Killian had known Bae from when they had both been stuck in Never land, he had even taught him how to be a pirate like he was at the time (Liam was not too happy about that development in Killian's past, but he understood the reasoning for it).

Before long we were being summoned to return back to the dungeons, and we all took in our last glance of the outside world. Or so we thought.

…...

I had spent the day with Killian and his family upon the battlements, and however much Killian and my family disliked each other; he found it within himself to show me some mercy. Killian and his brother (who had been dead until just a few weeks ago) took it in turns to tell their retrospective stories, and to get to know each other once again. One of the three girls had been suck here for five months, and explained how location spells wouldn't have worked on her. I couldn't help but notice how alike Sam was to Killian, they both had thin yet muscular frames, jet black hair that never seemed to look anything but a relative level of messy, eyes that were sunken into their heads from their experiences alone. Even though they had said they wanted me up here with them to spot my family, I knew it wasn't the real reason. They had wanted me out of the dungeons so I wouldn't feel the pain that she was constantly inflicting on our bodies. She had been trying to summon us from the "Crow's nest" battlements for hours, and finally, we knew it was time, so I took one final glance to the path which led to the castle gate, and I saw something I couldn't have been more surprised, happy and scared to see. For I had seen my family.

_Killian… _I whispered in my mind;

_Yes Belle? _Came Killian's voice, unhappy, but still there was still a glimmer of hope in his thoughts

_My family is here, we have to try and stall her in some way._

_I pass the news on, wait here- she can't throw you into your body from here, that should stall her for a bit, not much; but long enough for me to rally the others. _

_I hope you are right._

I waited for an hour before I was forcefully summoned by the Witch. Killian and Liam were back in their bodies, and were standing up, whilst Sam stayed leaning back on the wall, slouched on the ground. I was forced back into my body, an experience which I thought would be relatively pleasant- but rather it felt like I had just walked through hell and back with someone's hand in my chest.

_Rough re-entry? _Killian thought to me, I tried to think back to him but I found I was unable to, so I simply nodded in response. From being here, I could finally see why he and Emma were so perfect together- they had both lost and found their families, were both brave beyond belief, but still had enough broken pieces of their own hearts to stick back together and exchange. Liam was a lot like Killian in character, but they didn't look very alike when they stood next to each other. Killian had a thin and surprisingly muscular frame, whereas Liam had a muscular body which even time in this hell couldn't get rid of. Their hair was different colours, for Killian's was black whilst Liam's was more somewhere between blonde and brown. The only thing they really had in common was their eyes, the same colour and looks, to go with faces that were somewhere between similar and complete strangers.

The Jones family had showed me what a family was supposed to look like in those few hours- that you needed to work at the relationships, and always have each other's backs. It made me think of my own family, and how disjointed we were rather than dysfunctional. But however disjointed we were, we had each other's backs, and they were coming to get me, to stop the infernal curse from ever being cast. However waiting for it was agony, and a certain family of pirates had a song which cast the mood over the entire group- retaliation, sadness, and the reality that soon we could be dead. It went like this;

_Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die_

_Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die_

_The King and his men stole the queen from her bed_

_and bound her in her bones_

_The seas be ours and by the powers_

_Where we will...we'll roam_

_Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never say we die_

_Some men have died and some are alive_

_And others sail on the sea_

_With the keys to the cage_

_And the devil to pay_

_We lay to Fiddler's Green!_

_Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die_

_The bell has been raised from its watery grave_

_Do you hear its sepulchral tone?_

_A Call to all, pay heed to the squall_

_And turn your sail towards home!_

_Yo, Ho haul together, hoist the colours high_

_Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die_

Everybody joined in on the song, in every chorus getting louder and louder, till the defiant singing eventually reached its way to the ears of the Evil Witch who had held us captive for too long. And what a surprise she was going to be in for when my family came in to free us all- and preferably knock her down a notch or three. And thank the gods I didn't have to wait long for that to happen, for just as the Witch was about to start casting her curse, with everything in place, I could hear a rather large explosion going on upstairs, and it sounded a lot like one of Rumple's specialty bombs that he and Henry had managed to create in Storybrooke (to say the least when I found out I didn't know who to be more annoyed with, Rumple for practically blowing up our perfectly good kitchen, or Henry for coming up with the idea), and for once, I couldn't have been happier to hear that incredible sound of destruction. But no comfort could come from my family as the heart that once resided in my chest was in position, next to Killian and Sam's hearts to be crushed. Their faces were more solemn by each passing minute, for they thought that my family wouldn't get here fast enough to save us.

"Step away from my wife you whore" screamed Rumple, my husband who never swore unless someone had done something to severely piss him off. Today was exceptional of course, for usually I would scream at him for swearing. My pain increases but becomes less prominent as my heart is crushed by an enchanted crushing tool, I can see Killian and Sam disintegrating before me, their souls being pulled away from their walking corpses. Shadows of the people they once were. I could only hope that Rumple had gotten here soon enough- for it all faded black as he took my hand.

Chapter nine: Aimee

The first thing I remember was a cold, sharp pain in my chest, like an ice fire had been lit within me- and all I could see was white. Above me stood a woman with hair as black as the nights sky, and lips as red as blood. In her eyes were fear, shock, and pain. I feel like I should know who she is, or who I am for that matter. I searched my mind for any reason for5 not being able to remember anything, anything but two names; Jack and James.

"Aimee listen to me, Aimee thank god you are alright; do you remember who did this to you- please just speak to me!" the woman screamed at me, tears in her eyes. I turned my attention to the body of a man who was laid flat on his back, and being placed into a body bag. His face showed signs of pain, and signs of someone else's lie. I heard a voice in my head telling me to remove the spell, and show them that he wasn't who they thought he was. I crawled across the floor to his body; my legs were at odd angles and hurt like hell; so I had broken them before I lost all my memories. At the top of his head I could see a black mist floating out- the aura of someone's dark magic- instinctively I grabbed the aura and threw it away from the misidentified corpse- as soon as I did I saw something I thought was impossible; a creature of magic, but a young one. It had the body of a horse, but the head, neck and wings of an eagle. I felt like I should know what the name of whatever it was, but I just couldn't place it.

"Look at me Aimee; we need to know what happened and how you just turned Killian into that thing" spoke a man who looked incredibly familiar but I couldn't place- I think I'm related to him. So I responded with;

"I didn't change whoever Killian is into it- I just returned it to how it was underneath the magic. And who is Aimee? Is that my name? I don't have any recollection of any of this"

"So you have absolutely no memories of anything?" Spoke the woman from earlier- her name still elusive to me. Now she was standing up, I could see a red, black white and silver aura floating around her.

"All I can remember are two names, I think they are important to me but I don't know"

"What are these names, they could help us get your memories back" spoke another lady, her aura shining brighter than the sun in more colours than I could name- all colours but black. Her face was serious yet reassuring, her blonde hair waving gently down her shoulders and to her chest- not too dissimilar to my own hair, just a lighter blonde and less curly. I could see by her eyes that she had been crying, I think the thing that was disguised was disguised as someone who she loved. Her red leather jacket shone in the morning sunlight, whilst her boots looked like they had just been dragged through a forest backwards. In my head, just like the man from before, told me I was related to her, but not as closely. The resemblance between them was relative; there were many differences and a few similarities, so I figured that she must look more like her mother.

"The names I can remember are Jack and James, I think that you are related to James" I said directing it at the only man in the room "the voices keep saying it but I don't know really"

"I did have a brother named James- he was my identical twin in fact"

"I'm guessing you'll need me to use magic to find out who her relatives are? I mean we were going to do that any way" Spoke a new voice, a man, the man with the darkest aura's surrounding him, the only bright one was gold- but mainly it was black, and dark shades of every other colour. I had just about figured that the auras that I could see were created by magic- and every single caster was different. I could feel myself falling asleep in the arms of James's brother, his warmth sending me off my every heartbeat. But the warmth didn't last for long because I soon was placed onto a bed, which however comfortable it was it was equally cold- forcing me to awake from my nice slumber. The man of the darkest auras stepped forward with what looked to be a needle stuck to a globe- and when I say a needle stuck to a globe I mean it's like an opaque globe with a silver needle shaped into the golden frame. He told me to prick my finger upon the needle and that it would find where my parents were and who they were. Although upon following his instructions, the globe did nothing, my blood had been used but nothing was showing up on its surface. The dark one (I'm going to call him that for all his auras are dark) had a look on his face which spelled out to me that the reason he couldn't find my parents was because they were dead. His face now looked more sympathetic- although I didn't know his past, it was written all over his face that he had lost his parents when he was young too. He decided that he wanted to try again, but to check if I had any living relatives- and indeed this time a map of the town we were in showed up- James's brother, the blonde lady from earlier and a boy showed up. The dark one explained to me that these people were called David, Emma and Henry. Henry was his own Grandson, Emma was David's Daughter and Henry's mother- she was also known as the saviour; and David was my uncle, and his wife was called Mary-Margaret. He said I really should be able to remember them seeing as I had already spent a bit of time with them- but not much seeing as I had only been in Storybrooke for a matter of 3 days.

"Do you remember what happened to, or who Killian was?"

"Was that the name of the guy the creature was disguised as?"

"Yes, that was the name of the man who the creature was cursed to look like. He was a pirate once, and before that a navy man- until his brother died that is. He is in love with the saviour- a woman that no one else in the town could quite understand, for they were as different as the sun and the stars- they both had differences but when you thought about it for a while they were quite similar.

Although the dark one never said it throughout his entire speech essentially, I realised that he and this man named Killian didn't get on very well- more like enemies the more I think of the way he spoke. Whatever Killian had done to piss off the dark one, it had been pretty bad. So I kind of respected this Killian from a far- for if he could piss off the dark one and survive I would say he's doing quite well.

"I wonder…" the dark one said, muttering to himself. His mutterings went on for some time, and occasionally I would catch glimpses of words; the curse, Evil Witch, substitute, and the one word he said the most- Why? That's when I realised this Killian had been taken in place as a substitute for a curse that was going to be cast on to three of the Evil Witches enemies. The dark one was struggling to grasp why Killian had been taken when it was me the Evil Witch was after- but something inside me told me I already knew the answer. It wasn't me specifically that she wanted- but a part of me, and I'm pretty sure that part of me was my heart. What she did to Killian was evidently what she was going to do to me- curse my heart, rip it out of my chest and take my corpse to a dungeon somewhere. The only thing I knew about this Witch was I couldn't trust her however great the problem was.

I spent the rest of the day sleeping in the dark ones shop. The room was fairly small, and was cosy when it eventually warmed up. Half-way through the day The Saviour Emma came in to see what I knew. I just repeated everything I had heard the dark one say as well as my gut instincts which were pretty much all I had to go off today. Emma wasn't too impressed to say the least when I said that I only remembered what had been said today. Already I could kind of remember that morning- I could remember Killian fighting against a curse, fighting for me to stop my capture, but the words of the Evil Witch still rang in my ears;

"I will come for you again, and if anyone is with you, I shall kill them, just as I am doing to your precious Killian" I had no idea as to just what this curse could do, or who else had been captured in order for the curse to be cast, but what I did know, the last feeling of my old self; the Evil Witch had a friend of mine, and I needed her back. I wondered who my friend was, and what part of the curse she fitted into- and if this Killian character was by any means related to her. It was the only thing I could seem to do in this town- to be able to tell who was related to whom (I don't really know if this is a good gift or a bad one- I'm guessing that I would find out soon enough).

I discovered that this Storybrooke had a library in which I could possibly discover something about my family, and to see if I could remember my friends, seeing as I was the only who had seen/known the people who were my friends in my previous life. By this time I had discovered that the dark one did indeed have a name- Rumpelstiltskin, or his Storybrooke name of Mr Gold. He had a wife named Belle, and a daughter who I supposedly knew before my memories were stolen from me, called Saphira, or as I knew her- Keegan. He said she was trapped with her mother in the world which they came from called the enchanted forest- the world which I too came from. I asked about my third friend, the one no one spoke of, because I knew she existed but I couldn't remember who she was. From my lack of knowledge for this individual I could only feel grief for nobody else could remember her for they had never met her and the only person who still has memories of her is stuck in the enchanted forest- only sadness filled my heart. That was until I found a mirror that seemed to speak, a voice which I knew but could not place- telling me to go into the mirror if I wanted "a memory jog of the century". Seems whoever was on the other side knew who I was and knew I needed a severe memory jog. So without really thinking about it, I climbed into the mirror.

Awaiting me on the other side was a room which had no windows, but curtains that were on fire, with red walls and another mirror on the other side. I was scared- the flames seemed to lick my skin with evil torment, which was until a figure appeared from the other mirror and put the fires out; a man who I realised that indeed I had seen before, for it was Killian, the man who had practically given up everything just so I could live freely. The sight of Killian brought back about two days' worth of memories- the days that I had just spent in Storybrooke with everyone that I had met and everything my knowledge could recollect, was now starting to make sense. He looked at me as if to say _remember it all now? _To which I made a face to say sort of- and he just laughed. Not exactly what I needed right then, but his optimism made me smile, despite the fact that the guy had practically laid his life on the line for mine, only for me to lose all recollection of him; then he had gone through hell and back on top of it all.

He took my hand with the grace of a true English gentleman (rather than the picture of a dangerous pirate which Rumpelstiltskin had painted) and he took me through the second mirror, which opened into a castle of mirrors- and a girl who I realised I missed the most. Sam had been awaiting me to arrive to get my memories back- something she was quite happy about for it meant I could finally remember our little adventure which we had had when we first arrived in the enchanted forest, and how I ended up in Storybrooke so much later. We had been on her ship (or her father's depends on which way you look at it) called the Jolly Rodger, an old galleon. Our adventure had taken us to many places, including a place where time had stood still fro centuries- the very place which Sam and her family are well known from; Never land. Her mother had been called Milah, the ex-wife of the dark one who I had met back in Storybrooke- Milah was the reason that Killian had lost his left hand. Essentially Rumpelstiltskin had become outraged with Killian after Milah followed Killian and left Rumple with their young son Baelfire. So Rumple Killed Milah and cut off Killians hand- none of us quite understood how Sam came into the mix- for Milah had never been pregnant the entire time that she had been on the ship with Killian and his crew. Sam didn't quite care however for now she had a family which she knew she fitted into with every new thing she discovered about them. She had already figured out who my parents were and knew how lost I had felt; for when we had first arrived, she changed instantly into the woman she now was- and realised that she had lost her family and felt the insatiable emptiness that I was feeling now. She laughed at the optimism that I had shown when we first arrived and she said we were going on an adventure because she wasn't going to allow us to sit and sulk when there was an entire new world to explore. It was evident that her memories were still intact- turns out Keegan had no memories of this adventure; Sam was holding back on why we had lost our memories whilst all hers were still intact. Hours had passed before Sam or Killian said it was time for me to return to Storybrooke, the place they wanted to be. When I asked them on when they would come back, they changed the subject- I began to fear that they were never coming back to Storybrooke, whether or not it was choice I had no idea; but from Sam's expression, I gathered it best not to ask. Seeing as Killian helped me through, Sam took me back to the burning room and back through the mirror which would lead to Storybrooke.

Upon coming out of the mirror, I was surrounded by pretty much everyone who I had met so far- they had all been looking for me, unaware of the fact I had been in the mirror the entire time. I explained to them how Sam had managed to give me my memories back, much to the relief of Emma, for I happened to mention that Killian was also with her and was still alive contrary to what people had been saying about him in Storybrooke. Henry was glad I had my memories back, for it now meant that he had a gaming buddy- something Killian was trying to be when he was still in Storybrooke. Whilst I had been out, a strange ship had appeared on the horizon, a galleon which nobody except me knew what it was. I knew what ship it was from Sam's descriptions of this evil ship; the Flying Dutchman. It's captain, immortal and without a heart- Davy Jones was in its crow's nest and looking out onto Storybrooke. Sam had warned me of this ship- it was the one ship you never wanted to come across- For Davy Jones was known as the Satan of the seas, the human reincarnation of Lucifer who sails the thirteen seas. Killian had spoken of him destroying entire ships within seconds, sinking them before they can act. From the captains glare I knew that this ship would be staying for a while longer- they were looking for someone and that someone apparently was very good at hiding; for pirates had a sense of sight like no other and could practically see through walls.

I thought back to Sam Killian and Liam, stuck in their cells, awaiting an inevitable fate that was coming faster and faster, then I thought; _Perhaps Davy Jones is looking for Killian! He was the only pirate in Storybrooke, but what would Davy Jones want with Killian? He was a naval man at heart, turned pirate after a bad time_. My thoughts went on for hours, but for now, it would all have to wait; for I had to concentrate and find a way to A) get Sam back and B) get her to stay in Storybrooke (her addiction to adventure would be well suited to life in Storybrooke- nothing stands till for as much as one day). Now… Time to get Sam back.

Chapter ten: Sam

As the Evil Witch crushed our hearts, all I could feel was the love I had for my new family and those friends who had come here through the mirrors in order to regain memories or to get away from their new family- either way I was happy for the fact that I had been able to see them before my end. Stood next to me was Killian and Belle, and our three hearts sat in a magical vice; being crushed all at the same time, destroying our souls. Through my mind's eye I could see our souls crumbling to the ground like shattered glass, but there was still hope- for as we blacked out, Rumpelstiltskin and Saphira came through and killed the Evil Witch, we just hoped they had been in time to stop the curse from happening.

I awoke to a rather concerned Killian on one side, and a slightly worried Rumpelstiltskin on the other. At the foot of the bed I could see Saphira, Belle and Liam watching over me- whatever had happened to me wasn't expected evidently.

"Why is everyone staring at me? Killian you know I hate being the centre of attention" I said, the end of my sentence being said more into Killian's chest than the world outside.

"We were so afraid that you weren't going to make it- your heart kept stopping" Killian said with only happiness and relief in his voice, something that I was more than happy to hear from him because it finally meant that we were all free the Evil Witches tyranny. It was the first time I had been in a bed for around five months- so I decided that I wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon; the bed was too nice and warm for that. Killian and Liam just laughed when I said I wouldn't be getting out of bed. They didn't blame me- they were going to find beds of their own within Rumpelstiltskin's castle; now that I was up they could finally crash and they wouldn't be awakening any time soon. That made me laugh- a family who I could be stupid around and not feel, bad about it. I did miss my old family; but during my time in those dungeons and mirrors, I realised that I never truly fit into the world in which I just came from, but the world that they knew that was modern and with magic? Now that was a place I could live; nobody would be normal meaning I would class as their normal. A pirate who could do something with her powers, who wouldn't be afraid to use them in order to protect those around her. Killian had promised me that he would show me how to keep my powers under control- with the promise that if Liam and I used our powers he would too. He had spent too long underneath a rock as Liam put it.

The next day Killian taught me how to control the raging fire within me- and that in turn gave me control over my unknown talents- I had been too afraid to even try to use them meaning I had never found out. Killian and Liam showed me their talents (Pirates have two talents, apart from two exceptions- Killian and me who had three); Killian with super speed, the talent of alchemy and the powers of astral origins (he didn't tell me how he got them- but I knew that it wasn't exactly through choice). Liam had the gift of magic (pirate magic which is powerful in its own way but he couldn't use it in the witch's dungeons) and the strength of twenty bulls. Together they could do anything; their powers perfectly matched making them practically unstoppable when together. Once their little presentations finished they turned to me, expecting me to do whatever it was that I could do.

I followed their instructions to the last detail- dig deeper and deeper into your soul, find every emotion, and fill every muscle with it. But what followed this development was what terrified me to my very core- I lost control of everything and awoke to a very worried Killian. He was scared, not for what I could do- but for the fact as it had happened it started to kill me.

"We are not doing that again…" said Killian softly, until Liam interrupted him with;  
"At least not for a while, when your powers are stable enough to come out" Killian gave his brother the dirtiest look- evidently Killian wanted me safe whilst Liam wanted me to be different like they were. I just lay in Killian's arms, shaking from the experience, the pain which had surged through me when I had tried to be like Killian and Liam; I felt like I had failed them both.

Eventually Saphira noticed something wasn't quite with us pirates and came running out to find me in a bit of a mess whilst my Father and Uncle were sat quietly around me. Saphira couldn't quite grasp the idea that we could do things that weren't exactly human and all that had happened was mine back fired slightly. She didn't exactly believe that statement and argued that if it was a simple "backfire" I would be on my feet trying again. Killian got her to go away before carrying me back into the castle (my legs still collapsed underneath me when I tried, my attempt had made me weaker than I had ever been before). I was allowed to rest for the duration of time in the castle of the promise that I would sail the Jolly Rodger through the Ariana trench and get every single one of us back to Storybrooke. I was surprisingly alright with this; for it meant that I did actually have something that I could be useful for once more.

The days past and I became stronger and stronger in my body and soul (just not with my powers because that almost killed me), and with each passing day we Jones's gradually rebuilt our ship from the damage it had under gone at the hands of the Evil Witch. Rumpelstiltskin watched us from afar whilst teaching Saphira how to use her magic properly whilst under the eye of Belle who was determined to keep Saphira from reading or doing the black magic that the dark one had done in his past. I watched as Keegan became more and more like her father, and she addressed more as Saphira now that she had found her family. I felt slightly left out, for Keegan and Aimee had new names and families which were kind of expecting them; but even though I had been changed in the sense of my body, I was still just Sam, the unexpected child of Killian jones and Milah. Nobody had wanted me to exist and yet here I was- following my father's footsteps in being a pirate whilst being good friends with his enemies daughter.

After two weeks of being at the castle of Rumpelstiltskin we were finally ready to leave and return to the world of which we all called home. I led the Jolly Rodger out of the port with more grace than a swan on a lake- much to the surprise of my father and uncle who were more expecting me to crash the ship every five minutes and not know my ports from my starboards. The day passed quickly as we got closer to the trench; the trench which only I could see and navigate through successfully. I could see its tecni-coloured beams from a mile off, meaning that I had plenty of time to manoeuvre the ship into the correct alignment that would get us to Storybrooke in one piece. On the journey Killian started to sing a song that I had taught him in the time we were in hell. It was green eyes by Coldplay, the words fitting his and Emma's relationship perfectly; other than "I am a pirate you are a princess" which I wouldn't stop singing just to annoy him (it didn't always work, for sometimes it would just make him laugh) but either way it made him smile a smile that had not been seen on Killian's face since he was born; a smile of pure happiness and love. Liam was somewhere between happy and sad for Killian, happy that he had finally found someone who made him truly happy; unlike Liam's relationship with his wife, but Liam was sad that Killian had moved on, for it meant he would be spending a lot of time by himself. Both brothers vowed to get jobs when they got back to Storybrooke, for neither wanted to have to live on the streets anymore. The crocodile watched them laughing and joking with jealousy in his eyes, despite the fact he was doing the same with Saphira and Belle. I smiled at the optimism that was residing on my boat, a kind which I hadn't seen since I had left the world of no magic all those 7 months ago; when Aimee, Keegan and I had ventured to Neverland and found Liam. The happiness made my heart skip a few beats every so often for I had thought that I would never see it ever again. Keegan had decided that she was going to address as Saphira, so people would know that she was the daughter of Rumple and Belle; and she had also decided that she would tell Aimee her real name too. Her words made me remember that I was a bastard child- unwanted and unexpected, but I was still here and my father, even though he hadn't expected me or even knew me, had taken me into his arms and proudly called me his own (much to the surprise of Liam who had seen Killian as heartless until Killian reminded him that it was actually him who helped Liam and his wife with their twins which Liam had spent as little time with as possible; whilst Killian had essentially stepped in as a foster father for them). Every so often I would catch Killian glancing in my direction whilst I was stood at the helm and he would talk quietly to Liam- about what I had no idea and I didn't even know if I wanted to for the responses Liam was coming up with.

"You all might want to hold on tight to something, for the Ariana trench can get a little bit bumpy and I wouldn't want any of you to fall over board in the middle into an endless void" I yelled above the whistling of the wind and crash of the waves which created a sea life orchestra as we entered the Ariana trench. The walls of the trench came up beside the boat and rocked the boat as it was lifted between the worlds to the sea of transition- the sea between worlds, the sea closest to the stars; where the Ariana trench gathered all its magic from. I expertly steered the ship towards the portal which would lead us to Storybrooke- it was the newest of all the portals meaning its path was still jagged with magic making for the most difficult sailing that I had ever encountered, but it wasn't as rough as the first time I had come through the portal to Storybrooke. I had been here briefly whilst searching for Aimee and Keegan after we had fallen through the portal for we weren't together, It was only for a night and I hadn't actually gone on land meaning I still had more places to explore amongst these new lands.

I allowed Killian to take over as we exited the portal into Storybrooke for he had practically memorised the port better than he had the back of his hook. Someone on the port spotted the ship and waved for Killian to dock up in a position right by the entrance to the port; meaning it was the longest walk possible to get from here to the entrance. Killian met the dwarf kindly as he stepped off the Jolly Rodger surprising the dwarf entitled Grumpy. I took one of the mooring lines from the ship and secured them to the dock before letting our passengers off. Liam was most perplexed by the world which we all knew- although by coming here did he realise that it was him who was dressed oddly for he had said Killian wasn't properly dressed to which Killian had retorted "maybe not in the time you've just come from" to which I had just laughed. My clothes were acceptable in Storybrooke for they just leather skinny trousers, white shirt with waistcoat/corset thing topped off with an old fashioned naval jacket. Killian asked Grumpy to call Emma for his phone had long since run out of charge to which Grumpy ran off to do. Liam questioned me as to what a phone was and when did Killian get one of those strange devices. I explained to him that it was a way of communicating to people without having to be right next to them or having to see them. Liam liked the idea of a phone because it would've meant he could've talked to his wife and not had to see her or their children who I'm pretty sure he called demons. Grumpy very quickly came running back to the Jolly Rodger saying that half the town was on the way to come and see us all and welcome us home; for they hadn't seen some of the people around me for a good couple of months. I decided I would disappear below deck because I knew that nobody would be there for me and I didn't want to have to feel the rejection when everyone else was greeted but me. My plan didn't work for both Killian and Liam had noticed that I had disappeared and pulled me above deck just as people were coming into the port to greet Storybrooke's resident pirate, the dark one and both their respected families.

The first person to get to the ship and me was none other than Aimee- she had ran straight past Saphira for she didn't realise that Saphira was actually Keegan, just as Saphira hadn't realised that Aimee was indeed Aimee. Introducing them to each other again was a little bit weird but once they realised who each other were they were once more inseparable. Following closely behind Aimee was a blonde woman who I assumed was Emma for she ran straight to Killian and kissed him passionately on his lips- surprising the hell out of Liam for he hadn't realised just how in love his brother was with Miss Emma Swan. The rest of Storybrooke soon turned to stare at me after they had all greeted Killian- their stares made me feel little more than a zoo animal, pacing its pen awaiting their judgement. My father soon noticed this and introduced me- this time being Storybrooke's surprise to discover that Killian now had a family who he had never even known he had had. I met Aimee's new family only to discover that she was in fact was Emma's cousin as her father was David's identical twin brother, James. We all went along to a diner called Granny's, as the owner was little red riding hoods Granny, although what really happened was Little red riding hood was actually a werewolf and her red hood could keep her from turning if she so wished. Everyone had so many questions for Killian it made my head spin- so when everyone wasn't looking I grabbed myself a cider and went to sit outside by myself. I was later joined by Rumple who was holding a cup of tea.

"Must be strange for you" he spoke softly

"What? Coming back to the world I'm actually from and can understand? Or the fact that I was going to be involved in the curse of the century?"

"No, for the fact your family who you grew up with now no longer has any recollection of you, none of your old families do. And on top of that your family wasn't even expecting you- James and Jack were expecting a baby girl when they died all those years ago, and Belle and I literally held Saphira in our arms before she was snatched away, but you? Your mother has been dead for years and your father had never even been expecting a child"

"Well thank you for summing that up. Yes I already figured out that my family had no recollection of me, which makes sense, and I also realise that I am the bastard child of your ex-wife and Captain Hook. But just a warning? I don't usually hold back on punching someone, meaning don't piss me off like you just did"

"I'll remember that"  
"Wait a minute, you hate my father with a passion and wouldn't hold back on sending me to the locker, but instead you are heeding a warning from me? Something there is most certainly not right"

"You must have had a little too much to drink…" I didn't allow him to finish his sentence for my fist met his face before he had the chance to call me a drunkard or something like that. He reeled backwards holding his face; almost surprised that I had dared to punch him so god damn hard (He would have felt it but it wasn't my hardest punch).

"I know you said that you would punch me but I didn't realise..."

"That I'm not that easy to piss off? You can't say I didn't warn you"

"No I most certainly cannot. Another drink if you come back inside"

"Fine." Upon returning inside Granny's everybody stopped talking and had turned to me. I looked to Killian and I knew exactly what he was about to do. Evidently the quiet caused by my entrance was what Killian had been waiting for

"Can I have everyone's attention please" Killian called out, gaining everybody's attention. "I know that some of you were worried when I disappeared, slash died in some people's eyes; but I am here now. And now I am here, I am going to ask something which I was going to ask the day the Evil bitch took me- Emma?" Killian gently held Emma's hands with his own hand, and took her into the middle of the room. "Emma, I have loved you ever since we stepped onto Neverland on our search for Henry. You taught me how to love again after over a century of being alone and lost; and since I realised that I have been trying to show you how much that I love you. And for quite some time I have been trying to find a good way to word this- without wanting you to run a thousand miles in the opposite direction, or without your father trying to chase me down and behead me" that gathered a few laughs from the people filling the room, each trying to see and hear what was going on but without stepping into circle in which Killian and Emma were standing "But my time away from here, from you Emma, from everybody in Storybrooke in fact, has made me realise that there really no other way to ask this question than the old fashioned way" Getting down on one knee, Killian produced a pure silver ring that had a swan embellished with a diamond on it and spoke softly "Emma Swan…. Will you marry this wreck of a sailor and give him another chance? And this time I promise no flying monkeys will appear" everybody gasped after Killian asked Emma, because much to everybody's surprise, she said yes. Killian instantly stood back up, pulled Emma close and kissed her gently, passionately, and with all the love he had. Everybody cheered to the happy couple, now engaged- however not everybody was cheering, for Liam and Rumple were stood at the back of the room, not too far away from me actually, mouths wide open for they had not expected Killian to ask the question so soon after returning from hell or for Emma to say yes. Also Liam was really confused at his brother's statement about the flying monkeys. I explained to him how the last man who had proposed to Emma had been turned into a flying monkey and Killian had essentially saved her from it. I glanced around the room, looking for Aimee, Saphira, and the boy who would soon be my brother in law. I eventually saw them trying to sneak out- it was unsuccessful seeing as I spotted them.

"Where you lot going in a hurry?"

"To go play video games back at mine" Henry said, a grin on his face. I had the slight feeling that Aimee had told Henry about my previous life and me being a gamer geek as well as part pirate.

"What games do you have?"

"Portal 2, Dishonoured, a few Assassins Creed games…"

"Say no more you've got me hooked- the pun was intended there by the way" everyone just laughed at my stupid joke, and I realised then- I did have a family, I did have friends; and they were all here in Storybrooke.

Chapter Eleven: Aimee

I awoke to the sound of Grumpy running through the town screaming at the top of his lungs;

"He's done it! Rumple has brought them all home! Everybody quickly- to the port!" I was staying at my uncle's loft where he, his wife Snow White and my baby cousin Neal lived. As soon as I heard the call I raced to get my clothes on- almost what Sam had once made me try and do; Operation Awkward- You would have to wake up and get ready in under wo minutes, it was a naval thing and Sam's old family were quite militarised and naval based so she practically knew everything weird and wonderful about the British armed forces. For the first time I actually managed to complete operation awkward and was even out the house when the two minutes were up. David and Snow were right behind me the entire run to the port- I was determined to be the first one to see Sam and Killian once again, partly because Sam had been through hell and Killian had gone there because of me; but also because I wanted Sam to have a great welcoming into Storybrooke. Emma had had the same idea as me for she was also running headlong to the port at break neck speeds. When I got my first glance at the ship I could see Rumple, with two women who I was assuming his family, and Killian and Liam dragging a certain Sam from underneath the deck of their ship. I ran straight past Rumple and his family and practically jumped on Sam. She hadn't been expecting anyone to want to greet her. She then turned to the dark ones family and beckoned over the young adult who was roughly the same age as me over- it turns out it was actually Keegan who was going by her new name Saphira. I was so happy in that singular moment that I almost missed Killian nearly falling over from being jumped onto and kissed by Emma; to say the least Liam looked a little bit shocked by his younger but older brother with his significant other. After everyone had gotten over the excitement of Killian returning home with his recently resurrected brother, the attention span of the town turned to Sam, Saphira and I. Killian went onto explain how the curse had essentially taken a part of him and given him a daughter rather unexpectedly.

I then went onto suggest that everybody did the traditional celebration of Storybrooke and to go for a drink at Granny's diner and inn. Sam was more than happy with this development for it would mean she could break her fast of alcohol and food at the same time. Killian and Emma led the way arm in arm, talking so fast that not even the seagulls got a chance to squawk about everything that had happened to Killian over the past week or so. I stayed at the back of the group where Sam, Saphira and Henry were chilling out. Henry was really interested in what had happened to Sam and Saphira when they were missing. Saphira also asked this to Sam for she was the only one which actually remembered the first six months of us jumping through the portal. When we got to Granny's Sam didn't bother with the formalities and just went straight for food and alcohol (a good mix with Sam, for alcohol just didn't affect her at all, never had and probably never would), before disappearing outside once everybody started asking Killian all the questions. Rumple got himself a tea and went outside, only to return after around two minutes holding his jaw up, and I would guess that was because Sam had probably dealt one of her signature punches which could hurt anyone. Behind him was Sam, with a sly smile on her face which only confirmed what I had just suspected of happening. The quiet caused by Sam's entrance made Killian start his speech- long story short Killian proposed to Emma and Emma said yes.

When I glanced over to Henry It was evident he wanted to leave the vicinity as soon as possible and probably play more video games which I didn't really blame him for. Saphira came and joined us on sneaking out- but the sneaking was partially unsuccessful for we were spotted by Sam, but this was also good because it meant she could finally beat Henry's high scores and show him what it meant to be a real gamer geek. Upon coming out Sam came up with one of the greatest puns ever in terms of her father which made us all laugh stupidly. The joy of the day had made me forget about the looming danger of Davy Jones, but I wasn't about to let such a stupid thought cloud what would be the funniest four way sleepover anyone in our group had ever had (NOTHING RUDE HAPPENED just lots of popcorn was eaten and Sam beat us at all video games).

We all were woken up when Killian and Emma returned in the morning- It wasn't the opening door that woke us up, but Killian's laugh when he saw that we had all fallen asleep whilst playing video games. Sam just threw a pillow at him; she had had a big day yesterday and didn't want to wake up anytime soon. Saphira and Henry just laughed at her which made her wake up properly just so she could put them both in head locks in which they both said jokingly "Mercy?" to which Sam just replied "Not going to happen". It was evident that Killian and Emma were enjoying our shenanigans because they would just look at us and smile warmly in our direction. Breakfast was funny for Henry nearly started a food fight with Sam, but Emma broke it up before it could properly start; Killian just laughed for it reminded him of something that had happened with his niece and nephew nearly three hundred years ago- the last Christmas he had properly spent with family doing Christmas related things and when the entire port had gathered to do the traditional thing of having a Christmas banquet his niece and nephew started a food fight with a noble family of which he knew personally, and because Killian knew them they didn't take offence. That went on to commence quite possibly the biggest food fight in which Portsmouth has had for the duration of time it's been standing. Emma looked at Killian with a glance of surprise, for he had never told her about Portsmouth before, or that he had had a young family to raise, even though they weren't even his.

Killian was the first to ask about what had been happening in Storybrooke since he had been gone; partly because he knew that something was always happening in Storybrooke and also because he was curious as to what had been keeping Emma busy. Emma begun telling them about how the mysterious ship that had torn sails would sail past Storybrooke at every sunset, and how it hadn't turned up last night; and all at once, Killian, Sam, Saphira and I all simultaneously went "The flying Dutchman".

"What is the flying Dutchman? And even so isn't it just an old sailors tale? No offence Killian"

"None taken Emma. The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ship which is under the command of the sea devil himself- Davy Jones. It is a sailor's worst nightmare, for it sails under the black flag and gives no quarter, and will sink any ship that gets within sailing distance of its cannons. It's captain is bound to the ship quite literally; for his heart is cut out and placed into a chest which was made with the same magic that was used to curse the ship in the first place- meaning that the captain becomes immortal and can only step on land once every ten years. I once believed that it was just a myth, told by the superiors in the navy to stop young captains and navigators from going somewhere they shouldn't- until that is I saw the fated sails with my own eyes. I was the head navigator for about ten ships on one of my first voyages, when one of the other navigators believed that I was taking the long way around to our destination, and a navigator was disobeying my brothers command for he was the captain of the ship in question and turned into the danger zone; whereas I was just following the directions I had been given which would lead us around one of the areas that the Flying Dutchman supposedly would appear and sink any vessels that sailed there. When signalling to the ship to return from the danger zone, it appeared from underneath the sea and took the ship from the starboard side and blasted right through the ship; both sides were absolutely demolished from the cannon balls. But once It sank, I gazed upon the Flying Dutchman only to see that none other than the sea devil himself was looking from me to a body in the water- and without thinking I steered my own ship to where the other one had only just sunk to check and see if my brother had survived the onslaught that had just happened. I thanked the king of the sea that he had, so I dived in to stop him from drowning. Only once I had retrieved my brother and gotten back on deck did I realise that my own ship should be sitting right next to the other ships that had sunk in this very spot- but the devil hadn't even opened fire on us; he just stared right through me. And this time I was close enough to see him clearly; his face more an octopus with human features, features that were practically screaming that he knew me and my brother- and it has unnerved me to this very day Miss Swan"

"I'm so sorry Killian, I didn't realise…"

"It's not your fault". Killian stood up and left the loft; with Sam in hot pursuit. After all the pirates did generally stick together.

After half an hour Emma started trying to contact Killian for she was slightly nervous after what had happened the last time he was on his own he had been captured and this time there was a very real risk of this Davy Jones character doing something that she wouldn't like. Killian eventually got back to her to tell her he was alright, that Sam had managed to stop him looking for the sea devil and then convinced him to get her a phone so she could keep in contact with everyone. They had looked at phones but were unsuccessful and that was when Emma started to call him. Watching Emma's face, you could see how much she was in love with Killian; from the fear that shook her when he wasn't there, to the joy that would erupt just from hearing his voice- no matter how much she tried to hide it, she was over her heels in love with Killian Jones. This was only appropriate seeing as they were now engaged.

About an hour after Killian had left the loft he returned with Mary-Margaret, David, baby Neal, Liam and Sam in tow. I jumped up and got to Killian before Emma even had a chance to even get close. I had a past with Killian- he had saved my life and I needed him to know that I was eternally grateful WITHOUT Sam taking the piss out of me. Thankfully she understood and didn't mess around the way that she usually would. The absence of her usual stupidity did put me off however, for out of the group Sam was the most lively, the most vicious, but the most fun all the same- so this more serious side of her was completely new to me and Saphira; we wondered if something had happened in that hell hole to take that away from her. However much I wanted to see if Killian was alright, there was something that burned more into my mind that both Saphira and I both needed to find out. We needed to know what had happened in the space of time that only Sam could remember.

"Sam, we need to talk" with apprehension in my voice, and immediately Saphira knew exactly what I was trying for Sam to say.

"I'm guessing you want to know of the month that we spent together straight after we fell through the portal; correct?" Saphira and I nodded. Sam went over to Killian and motioned for Saphira and I to get some camping gear together- for she was going to take us to her secret hiding place within Storybrooke and we would camp there to be alone from the town, so she could tell our own story. Saphira managed to conjure some camping gear out of the air around her, enough for the three of us, but Sam rejected the camping gear that was left out for her.

We walked in quiet along the beach, heading towards what looked to be a small opening in the rocks, a hole that would get flooded and disappear at high tide, but at low tide it was clearly visible. _This is insanity; there won't be enough room for any of us to fit through there, and the tide is starting to come in- Sam must have lost…_

"I can hear your thoughts Aimee and I am not impressed with you saying that I have lost my mind when I quite clearly have not. Also looks can be deceiving" Sam said, walking seemingly straight through the rocks. Saphira and I glanced at each other- equally confused for a change, so we followed Sam through the seemingly solid rocks, only to find that there was a giant hidden cavern underneath where the rocks would be. The rocks that formed the ceiling were see through from this angle, whereas on the outside it looked just like normal rock. The space was open but not freezing, with a fire pit in the centre and ledges around it to form bench like structures. On the outside wall there were shelves containing items which I could have sworn that I had never seen before but at the same time they were eerily familiar. Below the shelves were larger , bed like ledges which were surprisingly still in reach of the warmth of the fire. Sam beckoned us to sit beside the fire pit of which she was already sitting around.

"Why did you bring us here Sam, why couldn't you have told us in the loft?" Saphira asked sheepishly.

"I have brought you both here because the words of which I am about to say are words that should never have even been said. The people here in Storybrooke are kind, but as soon as they find out someone has a secret they turn on them faster than a cannon ball. My fate here is inevitable, but yours is not. But you still deserve to know what happened.

Six and a half months ago: Sam

I saw the swirling's of purples; blues, greens and reds consume us within the portal. In front of me I could see Keegan and Aimee, both still unconscious, and just behind them, a recently awoken Dr Jones. He turned to face me, and attempted to say "Are you alright", but his voice was deafened by the roar of the vortex in which we all fell. I turned my gaze back to my friends, and to my horror, something was trying to grab them- so naturally I grabbed he first thing which came to hand and swung it at the arms of the creature that was trying to take them from me. Fortunately I had picked up a cutlass, which sliced through the creature without a problem. I looked behind me trying to spot where Dr Jones should have been, but instead, I only saw black. Without hesitation I grabbed my friends and threw us out of the vortex which was taking us further and further from our homes and families.

The landing was slightly rougher than I had first intended it to be, but regardless, it was better than being stuck in the forever vortex. I felt a piercing pain in my head, which then spread out to my body- but I did not scream. The pain eventually got the better of me and knocked me unconscious, but I still awoke before Aimee and Keegan. In my ears I could hear voices, voices which I knew to be fake; and they were all telling me to do the same thing- go to the water and look at my reflection. I had a feeling that whatever had knocked me out had caused me to look different, for I could already see that I was taller and slimmer, but also my hair was jet black, curly, and came down to my chest rather than just above my shoulders. Before heading to the stream I first moved Keegan and Aimee out of sight to keep them safe, but when I arrived at the stream; I couldn't even start to comprehend what I was seeing. Instead of seeing my ugly, boyish face, I saw a figure of beauty- a figure of beauty who also could kick your ass if you pissed her off. This pleased me, for finally, my reflection showed me who I had thought I was on the inside- A pirate. Behind me I heard a murmur as Aimee and Keegan started to come around, so I immediately ran towards them. I looked to them now to see if they had changed into the women for which I had always seen within them, but they hadn't. Aimee was the first to awake; and as soon as she did she tried to kill me for she had thought that I was trying to kill them.

"Well it's nice to see you too Aimee" I said sarcastically whilst wrestling my sword out of Aimee's grasp.

"Who the fuck are you- and where is our friend!"

"You know I used to think that you might actually have a sense of perception, but apparently I was mistaken Aimee. I used to think that our chats meant something, but evidently not"

"Sam….?" Keegan said quietly, with concern filling her voice.

"You took your bloody time Keegan, I'm pretty sure you had the hardest hit on the head. It's good to see you back in the land of the living again"

"What happened to you Sam- you look nothing like you did when we left"

"No idea and I'm not about to sit and ask. From what I can tell we've managed to land in another world, are right by the sea and are probably in for a few good adventures."

"I can see that we are indeed by the sea, but why do you say that we are in another land- and the adventures! Keegan aren't exactly adventure ready like you Sam"

"I know that we are in a new bloody world because have you ever seen a bloody griffon in the real world? Because whilst you were unconscious I have seen that and about seven different casters trying to find us. And the adventures… let's put it this way- You are with me for god's sake! There is a whole new land to explore and I am not bloody sitting around like a sitting duck"

"Could you show us how to fight- if we're going on an adventure it would only be right" Keegan said boldly, excitement leaking into her voice with every word- the idea of having an adventure like how I had always described filled her soul with new found excitement. I was the one more used to sailing adventures but to be fair an adventure on land didn't seem too bad; I could ride horses quite well so I could have a bit of fun teaching them how not to fall off their horses. Aimee still seemed apprehensive about the whole idea of going on adventure, especially because she could no longer recognise who I was. I left Keegan to try and convince Aimee on who I was and the fact that I wasn't lying whilst I went to go and get some water for them to drink whilst trying to figure out where I could get a bow to catch some food with. Upon arriving with drinks I could see that Keegan had managed to sway Aimee's worries aside, and with giant grins on their faces took the water containers and drank them dry.

As it was nearing sunset I made a fire and marked us a camp in a cavern which provided us perfect cover for the night as it was wind and rain proof. Sitting around the fire with my friends, however comforting it was to see them happy and smiling again; I also realised that I was no longer like them. I wasn't like them for I stayed conscious for the vortex, I got them to safety on the other side, but now I had changed into an entirely different person- the person which I had always seen as myself, but my friends had never met that version of me; for they had only ever seen the me that they had wanted to see. But now I was the person within and they had no choice but to see her- with her scars marking her sharp body and a past which was less than desirable.

The next morning we destroyed our camp and set out to find a way to hunt, a bow and full quiver if we could- for then Aimee could make more arrows (she was rather good at being able to replicate anything that she could get her hands onto) whilst I shot the deer or whatever it was that we had managed to find, and Keegan would then cook the food on the campfire. We had all agreed it would be the best arrangement seeing as I was the only one with any archery or trap building skill.

Around midday we discovered an abandoned village, with signs of something coming over the village faster than they could have prepared for, for there were some belongings still here. The one thing that put me off this village was the fact that there were no bodies, no blood- meaning that the people could still be alive but somewhere else, or they could be nearby and massacred. I kept watch whilst Aimee and Keegan scouted around the village to see if they could find anything which could prove useful to us surviving this hostile and strange world. Also we had to find some more suitable clothes as from what I had seen skinny jeans and blazers weren't exactly appropriate for everybody here was dressed in a style which more suited the medieval era. Aimee was the first to find some clothes which fitted her nicely, whilst Keegan had found the much needed bow and quiver with which I could find some food; once she relayed the much needed weapon I sent her to find some suitable clothes which would suit her figure. Aimee set about the task of making more arrows for the quiver only contained five and Keegan eventually returned in a dress which, with a bit of altering, would fit her figure perfectly. Once Aimee and Keegan were sorted I set about scouring the village for clothes that would fit me and not get in my way whilst fighting or hunting- but my hunt was unsuccessful. By the time we left the village we had managed to find a map that could direct us to the closest port- somewhere that I could find some proper clothes and a place where we could stock up on supplies. All I had was hope for this port- for it was what I really needed, as little had they realised it yet, but someone was after us and evidently they had a large sum of money on our heads for there wouldn't have been so many casters at our landing site if it was otherwise; and I couldn't place them under that stress, not now.

The port.

We arrived at the port not too long after the last ray of sunlight had passed over the land edge and the people of the port were retiring to their respective homes or addictions for the night. Upon looking at the port I could sense that it would be relatively safe provided we didn't cause any trouble which could travel to the ears of those who wanted to capture or even worse, kill us. Aimee and Keegan swiftly found a couple who were more than happy to take them in for the night- but they weren't so keen on allowing me in; as a pirate they had no trust in me, but they gave me some money so I could keep out of trouble in the bar. Little did I realise I would single-handedly manage to defeat the pirate who had kept this small port in fear for too long.

The bar I chose was small and dark, with spaces that in which I could easily hide. I bought three bottles of rum to keep me going through the night- this left me with change for the kind couple who had taken in Keegan and Aimee. I resided in a dark spot towards the back corner of the tavern- right next to the bar but it was dark enough that I could go unnoticed if I had to leave in a hurry.

"We don't see many people like you here" the land lord said to me quietly, and with his words, I noticed that everybody was staring at me- despite the fact that I was almost invisible in the darkest corner in the tavern.

"And what do you mean by that? A young woman by herself drinking rum? Or the fact that said young woman is carrying a cutlass?" I remarked. Clearly he hadn't noticed my deliberate barriers of keep well away in body language.

"No, although both are true. No you are a rare flower here for you are a pirate that isn't trying to kill everyone in sight just for looking at her. You see… at this port resides an old pirate bastard who keeps everyone to do his bidding when he gets back from a voyage- but if you lose your usefulness or you rise against him… well may the stars bless your soul"

"This bastard… what's his name? And how much of a pain in the ass is he"

"Well… He's quite easily the biggest pain the ass in the enchanted forest. And for his name… its black beard" With those two words the entire cavern went deathly quiet, and from their silence it was evident that these people feared this particular pirate with all their hearts. A cry from outside the tavern caused everybody to turn to face the walls as an older man, perhaps in his fifties stepped in. He was essentially what captain hook looked like in the original Disney films, just minus the hook and slightly older. I kept my glances short but constant, for I needed to have a better look at this man that had brought so much pain and misery to this small and poor town. And my small glances had given me the very information that I had needed to see and hear. The man was as despicable as the people had pictured him as, if not worse. Fortunately I was in luck for he wasn't very observant as he didn't notice me in my dark corner as the rest of the tavern had- nor did he notice me when I crept outside to go and find somewhere suitable to sleep. That didn't take too long, thankfully for someone from the tavern earlier had called it a night not too long after the town had told me how rare I was had a spare room in which I could sleep for the night.

The next morning I walked over to the place in which Keegan and Aimee had been staying; only to find it ripped to shreds and burnt to the ground. I ran to the port for I could hear the very thing I was trying to avoid- the sounds of Aimee and Keegan screaming. The couple they had been with were on their hands and knees in front of the bastard pirate, with swords pointed at the backs of their heads, and Aimee and Keegan were being held by two of the bastard's men.

"Now that we have what we came for- or at least most of it, I have no more use for you two. That is unless you can tell me where the third of the trio is, then I may just spare your lives…" He said, with the kind of voice that would generally scream _I'm in charge here_ but that just didn't work on me. Never really had, probably never would.

"Be careful with what you wish for Bastard. Or Blackbeard is it? I can never remember- both hold the same meaning" His face went from cocky to I want to kill you in all of two split second's. I revelled in his anger, for it only made me want to do it more: annoying the crap out of him was more fun than I anticipated. I just had to get it to the point at which he would draw his own sword and I could beat him- to 1) free my friends and 2) free this small yet friendly port from his tyranny. His hot temper eventually got the better of him however and he drew his cutlass- causing everybody to be silent; for nobody dared challenge Blackbeard, for nobody usually survived, but that was everyone else. I wasn't like them at all- and I was going to use this to win.

"Finally" He said to himself, for he had been awaiting a challenger for so long, and I had just provided him with the most perfect opportunity to destroy someone with his own hand.

"Wouldn't underestimate me if I were you old man" The entire port snickered at my remark, which then erupted into laughter as I easily dodged his haphazard attack and used his own momentum to throw him on the floor. Our swords clashed on many times- but my confidence never wavered, this new me was no longer afraid of those around her, and with every swing of my sword, Blackbeard's attacks became less and less powerful as he was beginning to tire. The glints of metal in the sunlight blinded the crowds as the sun went from being just behind the hills in the valley to the water's edge, but no light in my eyes could stop me- and before long, I had disarmed the old pirate; all without breaking into a sweat.

"Do it, kill me. You don't have it in you"

"Once again pirate- do not underestimate me." I spoke to him with my knee on his chest. "Someone in the port, I'm needing a box or crate- something big enough to fit this one in- preferably without me having to decapitate him first" I called out, and before long, a chest was brought forward, just about big enough to fit him in if he was crouching down sideways. _Perfect _I thought to myself. _Now I can use him as an example for those who plan to cross me. Aimee and Keegan probably shouldn't see this, but it needs to happen if any one of us is to live to see another sunrise._

"Now, I have only been in this port for less than twenty four hours- but I can see clearly the tyranny that has ruled over your lives for too long. And here he is, beaten and broken- for all those who oppress those around them will forever have the same fate. And so today I will make an example. An example which must spread to every corner of this Enchanted Forest, and to every land that can be found, for today it ends. Today marks the ends of one mans greed for power, and the beginning of your new, and free lives. Free from the people who you have feared since you were small- for they can and will fall once they have succumbed to the greed within their hearts. All I ask of those of you here is to spread this message to the rest of the realm, and give hope to those who need it more than anything" As I wrapped up my speech, the people had already tied up Blackbeard and lifted him into the chest. I looked down onto his face, which showed me what I had seen in him all along; a coward, afraid of those who dared to go against him. And all he saw in me was a fearless heart- a heart that knew pain, sorrow, loss and however unlikely, love. And it was my love that had just liberated these fair people of the port. So I placed all my remorse and worries behind an impenetrable wall of my logic and pushed the sealed chest with Blackbeard inside over board into the deepest area of the port, in a place where no mer people could **FIN**terfere with things. In throwing Blackbeard overboard, I couldn't help but regret what I had just done- I had murdered a man in cold blood, just to get my friends and some innocent people their freedom. Upon looking back to the crowd, I could see all but two people cheering me on- Aimee and Keegan. They stood there in horror at what I had just done, for they never thought I was being serious about actually killing him. I steered the ship back to the port, for it had drifted away from its berth as the ropes that had been cut during mine and Blackbeard's fight.

The town welcomed me in open arms, for they were finally free, and out of the corner of my eye I could see some people already leaving to spread my message. And I faced quite possibly the hardest set of words to say. Words that would be even harder to say than I'm sorry to Aimee and Keegan.

After docking the ship once more I went to approach Aimee and Keegan but I found my path blocked by some of the residents of this small port. Only then did it occur to me that I had no idea of what this port was called, or anyone's names within it.

"I hope you realise that we here in port Samuel are eternally grateful for what you have done for us today- and just as you asked, your message will be carried to the end of this world, and who knows? It may even make it to the next one" Said the bar keeper who had told me of Blackbeard in the first place, with only joy in his heart and eyes.

"I require some clothes, rations for two people with a guide as well as horses"

"But there are three of you are there not?" the bar keeper asked me quizzically.

"There was. But for my friends safety I have no other choice but to get them as far away from me as possible, for whoever it is that searches for us, is expecting all three of us to be together and in the same place. I'm sorry Aimee, and I'm sorry Keegan, for having to do this to you. But I trust that the people here will help you stay out of trouble on your troubles. I realise that adventure wasn't for either of you- so you need to find a place that you can both live, somewhere as far from the sea you can get. So you'll be as far away as possible from me"

"Sam… you can't be serious? I mean we just got here and…" Aimee managed to speak out. The prospect of me leaving them both was even scarier than me killing someone apparently.

"I'm deadly serious about this Aimee" I said solemnly. "I always knew I wouldn't be able to protect you and Keegan. But I was able to help you both learn. You may not have realised it yet, but I have taught you many things…"

"Yes! Things that are no use in this land!" Keegan cried, tears flowing down her face

"You'd be surprised, for the karate does come in bloody useful in a sword fight. My abandonment isn't to make it so you have your own adventure although knowing you both that will happen anyway, but my abandonment is what is going to keep you safe from whoever it is who is looking for us. I really shouldn't give you this but…" I held out a pirate orb, something that was sacred amongst the pirates. It was infused with ancient pirate magic that allowed people to talk through them. Theoretically it could work across realms too.

"This orb will allow you to contact me if you are in dire need. And I repeat only if it is really necessary for the magic is highly unstable and should only be used in case of a deadly emergency. You got that Aimee?" I spoke as if I were her mother, for I needed her to realise how important it was to not use this orb. It was centuries old, and had become unstable over time; but it was still linked to the orb I carried with me meaning that it could take one or two calls still.

"Yeah, I got it" Aimee said, her voice breaking with every word. I turned to face the land lord once more, for he had something that I needed.

"Don't suppose that ship is going spare land lord?" I asked, knowing full well that nobody else would be wanting to sail a ship that was associated with two of the most infamous pirates known to the enchanted forest; Blackbeard and Captain Hook. Nobody knew what had happened to Hook; supposedly he gave his ship up to save the woman he loved, who was rumoured to be in another world altogether.

"No, that ship belongs to someone" The land lord said with a wry smile

"Well who would that be then" I asked quizzically, the ship had only been free for half an hour and I couldn't picture anyone else who would want to sail a cursed ship

"Well I'm talking to her right now, so ask her!" It took me a few seconds to realise that the only one he was talking to was me. I was already the owner of the ship, and I was not going to waste that opportunity. I laughed once I had the realisation. "I trust you'll want your clothes and supplies now, Sam is it?"

"Aye, I'll need those." I said to the landlord who had more or less pointed me in the direction of Blackbeard. "And here is where we must part I'm afraid, for your adventure must begin. Send me a raven when you have found a place that you can live peacefully in without the danger that follows me like a shadow. Good luck to you both and I hope that you live for longer than I probably will" My voice filled with the regret that I was trying more than anything to hide from Aimee and Keegan, for if they knew that I was feeling as bad about leaving them as they probably did about leaving.

I watched Aimee and Keegan as they mounted their horses, glanced back at me one last time, as if to clarify that I wasn't going with them anymore. Their faces filled with sorrow as they turned to face the open road, and left me at the port. The landlord helped me tie the Jolly Rodger back to the docks, and that also solved the problem of me not having anywhere to sleep for the Jolly Rodger had plenty of places to sleep- one of which was the captain's cabin.

The next day the people of the port found their tailor and told him of the events that had just passed. He could not see and Blackbeard had placed him so far underground that he couldn't hear the goings on in the port. He sent the people away to fetch him some materials, but he asked me to stay so that I could tell him exactly what had happened. He could tell that I was not from around here from the auras that I gave off. In the end the tailor made me an outfit which was semi-enchanted, skinny leather trousers which would never tear, even when I was going up the rigging. I wore a white loose top with a leather corset which kept my figure and kept the shirt from getting in my way. To top my outfit off, was a sapphire blue naval style jacket with black and gold trims. I didn't realise how good I would look in a pirate's garb, but I did. When I finally returned to my ship I found the hold filled with rum, food and blankets- everything I would need for a long journey on the seas.

"Thank you, for everything, Sky Sailor"

"Your welc…. Wait a minute…How did you know what my sailor's nickname was? I haven't said that to anyone in this world- nor had I even told Aimee or Keegan that. So how did you?!" I questioned. And it was true, for I hadn't told anybody that name for months.

"Our tailor, he can see secrets and pasts, as well as having magic alongside his abilities as a tailor. He saw that that would be your pirate name in this world. I personally think that it suits you and your new ship quite well, for it is said that is has a Pegasus sail"

"Well that is for me to find out sometime soon. I thank you and your port for your assistance, but I must leave now. Under the cover of darkness when nobody expects me to go. It means I can get a head start from whoever is after me. I'm sorry but this is the way it must be"

"It makes sense my dear heroine. I hope that we meet again soon"

"I hope not, for that would mean that you lot would need saving once more. Also…. It's pirate, not heroine"

"You keep telling yourself that" The land lord shouted as he was walking back to his tavern, and he left me wondering- how could I possibly be a heroine when I had just had to murder the man who was once the captain of the very ship that I now owned. _I am a pirate. I am nothing more, and nothing less. And nobody can tell me otherwise. _

The rescue.

Two weeks passed and I had sailed from port to port, freeing them of the pirates who had them as slaves under their tyrannical rule. The name Sky Sailor became feared by all those who oppressed those in their rule. I received ravens telling me of what Keegan and Aimee had been up to during their search for a new home- something that they had found. It was a summer castle, used by Snow White and Prince Charming on their honeymoon supposedly and wasn't too big so they had moved in. With every raven I received from them, the more regret I felt for leaving them- but I knew in my heart it was better this way. That they would be safer with my distance. But the questions were becoming harder and harder to ignore, as my "heroics" were spreading fast around the land as the people celebrated Sky Sailor's feats of bravery and fighting, but they only knew half of the story. I was no heroine. I was a pirate. A murderer in some cases- and with each tyrant that I killed, I gained more and more weight on my shoulders.

I had just made port on the north-eastern side of the Enchanted Forest when they made the plea. I had tied the Jolly Rodger to its new mooring and had made my way to the port masters cabin when my orb started to glow like mad- the signal that someone was trying to contact me, so I immediately ran back on board and below the decks so I could see what was going on on the other side of the magical bridge. Upon looking into the orb I could see a castle on fire, with Aimee and Keegan covered in ash and held captive. _Their fear must have triggered the call_ I thought to myself. Surrounding my friends were guards wearing black armour, with green embellishments; but their leader wasn't what I expected. She was middle aged, fierce, and had many dark auras surrounding her- her magic was dark yet powerful, and she had just gained something crucial to whatever she was doing, so I immediately sprang to action and grabbed the first horse I could get my hands on and rode towards where the summer castle was, knowing that Aimee and Keegan had had no actual contact with any casters in this world caused me to only go faster and faster.

It was the following evening that I finally reached where the summer castle had once stood. It was magnificent- and in ruins. The ash covered the ground, turning the surrounding area grey, but the lack of colour meant that I could see some artefacts that would lead to Aimee and Keegan's new position. On the ground, I could see circles of hoof prints and foot prints from where Aimee and Keegan had been surrounded by the guards, I could see that Keegan had been injured from the destruction of the summer castle, as a few drops of her blood were on the floor. I could see that the hoof prints went north-east, and had taken a steeper route down the slope which I would've taken had it not been impossible to go up- but that didn't mean that it was impossible to go down. From the scraps of armour and fabrics that I found torn around the ruin, I managed to figure out that Aimee and Keegan were being taken to the castle which shadowed over the very port that the Jolly Rodger was docked at. I wanted to go after them immediately, but my horse had just cantered and galloped for little over a day straight. So I spent the night within the ruined barn out the back, for it was the only building left standing. Inside it was dark and cold, but it was sheltered and safe; so I let the void take my consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning I arose to my horse rearing after a beam had fallen from the roof of the beam. Only then did it occur to me that I had ridden my horse bareback for over a day, with only a rope head collar to control it.

"Better get you some tack, shouldn't I boy?" I spoke softly to the gentle giant that had carried me all this way without throwing me off halfway along the journey. It made me question how I had managed to ride for that long without falling, or for the horse not becoming exhausted for the speed we were going at for such a long time. So I hatched a plan on how I could gather some tack, and set off to enact it.

By midday I had managed to catch up to the convoy that was carrying my friends. I could see that all the horses were tied up on the outskirts of the camp, and just out of sight of the guards. And so began my cunning plan to gain some tack and two particular passengers- I began by releasing two of their horses, both with their tack still on, and swapped the tack onto my steed before tying it to where the horses had been tied up before. The next guard to wander close to the horses fell for my trick, for he spotted that one horse was missing- but he looked over the fact that one of the horses had magically changed colours and lost its armour.

The camp was big in size, but my friends were easy to find. They were being held in a cage right above the middle of the encampment, about twenty feet in the air, supported by a branch from the neighbouring tree. I climbed silently up and along the trees, careful not to gain any attention from those below me. At a closer glance, I could see that the cage was magically locked- and it would need magic to release it, but nobody in the laws of magic had ever said you couldn't use sea magic to break a land magic spell.

I closed my eyes, my hands hovering over the lock, and summoned every feeling that I had ever had with Aimee and Keegan and directed it to unlock the cage- but it had a very different effect, for the entire cage disappeared and left my friends sitting on the branch. My magic was unused and full of power, so much so that it nearly caused me to fall of the branch we were on.

"Sam?" Aimee whispered quietly, surprise and hope filling her from her core.

"Follow me, we don't have much time- and be VERY quiet, or we'll get caught" They both caught my comment and immediately became as quiet as they possibly could.

It took longer to get back to the horses than it did for me to get to my friends, for they couldn't go and faster AND keep quiet. But thankfully the guard had not returned to where the horses where and the coast was clear. I got Aimee and Keegan a couple of horses, and we managed to sneak away from the encampment without gaining any unwanted attention.

"How did you know to come and get us Sam? We never sent the signal for you to come- although we are even more in your debt than we were before"

"You did send me a signal, just not intentionally. The orb sensed your fear and sent an SOS signal to mine. It didn't take me long to find you, I just had to follow the trail of blood; so the question is, which one of you is injured?" Even though I knew the answer was Keegan, I needed to make sure that they knew someone was injured; for Keegan wasn't always with it when she was injured

"I am" Keegan said faintly, And she glanced down to her leg and grimaced. I brought our small party to a halt so I could see exactly what was wrong, and it was not good at all. Her leg was slashed open, probably by a sword, but thank the gods it was clean.

"Can you use your magic to fix it?" Aimee asked me quietly, It more or less took me by shock for I had thought they were both asleep and wouldn't have noticed that I had indeed used magic.

"I don't know, I can try, but no promises that it will work. After we've stabilised Keegan we'll get you back to my ship and I'm taking you far from those who are after us". Behind their eyes I could see their fear, afraid of what I might do along the way; and I didn't blame them to be honest. They had once seen me as something near a hero, who could never put a foot wrong; to a pirate who had murdered another man (more or less in cold blood) to save a port town. I didn't blame them for not trusting me anymore, for I didn't either. But for now I had to concentrate on healing Keegan's leg, for if I didn't, there was a good chance that she could bleed to death. Thankfully my magic did know how to heal, even though I didn't; something that amazed them both for they had thought that I could only do damage, and yet here I was completely haling Keegan's leg to the point that it had never been injured.

I spent the rest of the gallop to the port in silence, whilst Aimee and Keegan were talking so fast that you wouldn't have been able to get a word in edge ways. They constantly asked me questions such as if the rumours were true, that I had freed more ports and killed more men. I could barely face them for the rumours were true and I couldn't face them anymore because of it. I already knew that I would have to tell them everything when we got back to the Jolly Rodger. But however silent I remained the questions kept on coming. And I knew that I would have to once more cage my emotions before I became an emotional wreck.

We took half a day and night to reach the small port that I was docked at; the castle giving me extra reason to get away from this god forsaken land. The people of the port welcomed me with open arms, despite the fact that I had stolen one of their horses (although to be fair they had heard that I could have to do so to save those who were once with me) and Aimee and Keegan were more surprised than anything- for how could someone like me be seen as a hero when I had killed people in what they saw as cold blood. I knew that however much explaining I did our friendship would never be the same; and I could take an educated guess at it being for the worst.

"Do you need anything more Sky Sailor? We here at Port Tolonia would be more than happy to help you some more" The new town mayor called out to me. He had once been a black smith, but he had gained some street cred after he threw me a sword which was used to defeat this ports tyrant.

"I thank you good mayor, but I have already taken too much from your port, and I do not wish to out stay my welcome. I would say till we meet again but that would mean that you lot needed saving once more"

"Of course, Sky. You are forever welcome to dock here from now till the end of time" I nodded in response; for I was too amused by Aimee and Keegan's faces for they were becoming more and more surprised at my antics from their little trip. And now we were aboard the Jolly Rodger I could tell them both everything- they wouldn't like most of it but it needed to happen. So I allowed the sails to billow and fill and carry us away from the small port to an open space of water which would allow me to deploy my secret weapon. My way of getting from this realm to one where there was going to be next to no people and no way for those in this realm to get to us. So I gathered my Strength and began to lock to ships wheel in place which would allow me to assemble my secret weapon.

"What are you doing" Aimee asked, afraid that my actions and intentions could be to kill her and Keegan.

"You'll see. This little secret weapon will take us to other realms, and before you ask that does not mean that we can go home- for it can only get us between this realm and one other- unless we find a sextant that is. Instead we are going somewhere that our followers cannot go. For we are going to a world where imagination rules the roost and time has stopped. Not to mention the story of which I can relate to the most comes to from here"

"We're going to Neverland aren't we Sam" Keegan said excitedly.

"Aye, that be where we be headed Keegan. Aye it be.

Neverland.

I deployed the Pegasus sail to carry us into this unknown realm, this Neverland, and I could feel the excitement building on board. Aimee and Keegan had never believed in the sea tales that I had told them back home in our little land without magic, and here they were, living them. My Pegasus sail shone in the mid-winter sun, the wind and sky sea air blowing through my hair; something that Aimee and Keegan couldn't understand for they thought it just went sea, sky, atmosphere, space. But hidden between the sky and the atmosphere id this wonderful section we pirate call the sky or star sea, a place where only ships with a Pegasus sail can go. With my navigating we were able to reach Neverland without a problem-the problems just came when we got there instead.

"Ok, now that we are here in this new realm, you, Samara-Rose Evans, are going to tell us everything that has happened to you since we left."

"I knew that one was coming. Can we at least get to land first? For then we can make camp and I can tell you my story in peace"

"Nope. I am not leaving this god forsaken ship until you tell me everything, you with me Aimee?"

"Yes I am Keegan."

"Bleeding barnacles you two are stubborn arses sometimes you know that? Fine then. But you're not going to like all of it. Starting from the day you left… Well I started by helping that small port Samuel get all its residents above ground and got myself a new outfit which was more suitable to this land. From there I went to a couple more ports, each with someone stupid, greedy and more or less a tyrant in charge- so I carried on my message, cutting down these tyrants and liberating the people of the towns. Or so I was telling myself. Once I left the south of the enchanted forest I made my way to the north-east shores to take a break from the constant fighting whenever I landed again. That was when I got your unintentional but needed message and from there you know what's happened"

"Not the whole story. We have heard that you have killed more than twenty men since we last saw you"

"Regrettably also true. They were followers of their tyrants and turned me down when I offered peace" My answer put them into silence. They hadn't expected me to feel bad about killing those who faced me. They also hadn't managed to grasp the fact that it was normal to kill people in the Enchanted Forest. Aimee looked shocked at me, as if I was a liar (I hadn't lied, I truly did regret every drop of blood) whilst Keegan looked ashamed of asking the question. For pushing it too far.

By the time we reached shore, I didn't know who wanted to escape who faster, me escape Aimee and Keegan or Aimee and Keegan to escape me; I could tell by Aimee's expression that she wanted to jump ship as soon as possible, whereas Keegan's face was deep in thought (planning the quickest escape route probably). And upon getting to the shore, they both surprised me.

"So where now Captain" Aimee chirped, sounding a little bit too happy to be herself.

"Have you literally forgotten the past two weeks? Because the last time I checked you thought I was a murderous asshole who you wanted nothing to do with"

"No, that isn't what we were thinking at all. We were annoyed because you left us in a land of which we knew nothing about. We were confused at the beginning because you changed when we stayed the same- and then you distanced yourself from us like you were another person which didn't help. We watched you change from one person to another, and you aren't exactly one to show your emotions so we had no idea of what you were thinking or feeling. To us it did look like you killed a man in cold blood. But now you actually admitted that you feel bad about it we can understand you again. So no we don't hate you- we just don't want you to leave us again"

I had no idea on how to react to this for Aimee and Keegan were actually wanting to be with me still despite the fact I had done what I had done. Also they had seen just how much death was in the Enchanted Forest, and what I had done was normal but it had liberated those in fear and they understood now. They understood that I was from here and that was why I was no longer the same as them. But they couldn't have cared less- for we were on our adventure at last; and this time with nobody to try and kill us.

Neverland was hot under the midsummer sun, and I led our small but happy party to a place in which we could spend the night; this didn't take all too long for we found a tree house not too far from us on the western side of the island, and as it showed years of abandonment we decided to make it our temporary home. Inside it was surprisingly roomy, enough to fit three teenagers/young women in without wanting to murder each other for more space. We searched around for clues as to whose house it was, but we found no evidence of someone ever living here bar a few bowls and water satchels.

"I had no idea that either of you ever wanted me as a friend again- I mean I left rather unceremoniously and you both looked at me as though I was a complete stranger when just a day or two before hand we had been through that I was who I said I was"

"And we've explained those expressions already. You surprised us, and we had no idea what life was like in the Enchanted Forest- for we had no idea that killing people was normal. Life is different now; we all understand what goes on in this world and together we can face it"

"I hope for all our sakes that is true Aimee. I'm just praying that bitch of a witch doesn't know that this places exists- let alone the way here"

"I doubt that she'll know this place is here; and also I don't know of any other way she can get here without your ship and that whatever you call it…"

"The Pegasus sail you mean?"

"Yeah that one"

"I'm hoping that she has no way of getting her hands onto a magic bean for if she does there is no way of stopping her from getting here and dragging you two with her. I'm also curious, because when I faced Blackbeard he asked about the third in the trio- me. So if she's looking for all three of us and she comes here then we are all screwed quite royally.

The afternoon quickly turned to evening and the evening to night as we sat and talked about all that had happened to us- before and after the vortex. And in our conversation came up Dr Killian Jones and how he had disappeared in the vortex; Keegan reckoned that he knew a way to escape the vortex in between the worlds and gone to a different world, one that he came from. Aimee reckoned that someone pulled him out into the place he's from- we had all by now realised that he wasn't who he said he was, but he could be trusted despite the fact he had told us a lie of where he was from. As we agreed on Killian Jones possibly being a naval man we heard the sound of footsteps belong us in the bushes, and the yell of a man in pain. Aimee and Keegan stepped away from the entrance whilst I walked towards it, curious as to who else would be on this god forsaken island with us.

His attire was rather unusual in this realm- but I did recognise it. He was wearing the clothes of a late 18th century naval captain- he even had the cutlass to go with his station. His hair was more like a blonde birds nest than actual hair from its messiness. But when I saw his eyes I knew exactly who he was related to- none other than the man we had been talking about just moments before hand- and he even confirmed it for us, so we allowed him to come and join us in our little temporary home.

"So what's your story sailor- and how are you still here when your attire suggests that you are at least 220-230 years old?"

"Well…I left Portsmouth with my brother in 1795 on our ship 'The Vanguard'. We sailed here using our Pegasus sail um… My brother and I met a teenage boy, who went by the name of Peter who warned us that the Dream Shade was poisonous; to which Killian listened whereas I didn't and the Dream Shade ended up taking my life once I was back outside of Neverland. From there I don't know what's happened, where my brother is and how I am even alive"

"Had on mate" I spoke out, probably sounding a bit like his brother when I said it with his reaction "You died on The Vanguard? Dream Shade would kill you in a matter of hours; meaning you wouldn't have had enough time to reach your ship in which you died. And that's another problem with your story- you died outside of Neverland yet now your back to life you are here- meaning your body would've had to have been dragged through about three different realms just for you to end up here"

"I know where you are coming from but I speak the truth. No I have no idea on how I got here- it is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. But I would like to ask you something. You said based off my clothing I was at least 220 years old, if I had survived that is, so how come you are from the future and stuck here on this god forsaken island? How about you pirate- for you seem the most vocal"

"Oh, so I'm the only pirate here? Liar liar liar. I know that you are Portsmouth pirate yourself so you can stop complaining on the pirate front, and even though I may be slightly pirate in the other sense as well, I am still a good person. In response to your question we are hiding from a powerful sorceress who wants to do something nefarious with us- that something being unknown…"

"And you didn't ask her because?" he chipped in. Clearly the nefarious part hadn't sunken into his thick skull.

"We didn't ask her because she tried to set us on fire/ kill us by demolishing the house we were living in whilst we were still inside" Keegan screamed. Turns out I wasn't the only one who fucking pissed off with the guy for not listening.

"Okay. Seeing as we are all now stuck here on this island I suggest we at least know each other's names so if there is trouble we can call for one another. Agreed?" He added hopefully at the end. He evidently hadn't seen the mid-sized galleon that was gently bobbing in the bay.

"Fine. You go first, and if you side with the bitch if and when she gets here, we will sail on our ship; complete with its Pegasus sail and leave you here to rot." He looked almost shocked at that statement, for he hadn't expected a girl to be quite so violent with her words or with the fact that I had indeed a way out of Neverland if I should please.

"I am Captain William Jones. But Liam will do.

"Sky Sailor. But Sam will do" I said, not even hesitating on my pirate name much to Keegan and Aimee's surprise; for they had expected me to leave that name out for the things I had done under it. "These two are Aimee and Keegan. Only call on them if I'm pissed off with you personally rather than you pissing me off so much I don't want you to call any of us am I understood sailor" I was barking a bit by the end of it, but I needed to make sure that Liam understood and would follow it- for after all it would be his death if he betrayed me; something that Aimee and Keegan knew all too well.

"Very well, Sam. But I hardly believe that…" He didn't manage to finish that sexist comment for my fist met his face for what would probably not be the last time "Okay, okay I take it back you actually mean all those comments. Now can I please put my jaw back together without you knocking it back off its hinges?" He said with the cockiness out of his voice, a sound which was more or less welcomed by me because it meant he would behave himself now. Under her breath I could hear Aimee making a remark going something along the lines of _Keep on her good side, we have seen her kill a man before so you wouldn't want that happening to you would you? _His pure face of terror was enough to make me lose the straight face, something that only made him look even more terrified.

The days past and our relationships with Liam became better, Aimee and Keegan knew he was their friend whilst he was a friend he was also an utter pain in the arse because he was more suicidal than I was (which was incredibly difficult for if you had seen my wrists the scars would speak for themselves, and yes I had tried to take my life on multiple occasions, but now I had Aimee and Keegan to take care of essentially I was putting a brave face on it all), meaning I was constantly having to pull him back from ledges and Dream Shade so he wouldn't allow the past to repeat itself.

We had been on the island for four days when she came. Her dark auras casting themselves across the jungle island of Neverland, and creating what looked like a cloudy day for the others, looked like eternal night for me as I could see the auras. She summoned us practically to her, by whisking us away with her magic right next to her portal- but she didn't realise that I knew pirate magic (also known as sea magic- it's called pirate magic for they were the only humans who were able to harbour and use such magic), meaning I could use the portal to get both Aimee and Keegan to safety.

The Evil Witch wanted us to go through the portal to her castle so she could cast a curse, but as she tried to make Aimee and Keegan go through, I sent out my own magic to intercept the portal, sending both Aimee and Keegan to where they needed to be, five months from the moment I was in. To say the least the witch wanted me dead for my actions, but she couldn't kill me for she needed me alive for her curse to work. And so Liam and I were captured and taken into the Evil Witches castle.

Present Day.

"And from there you know everything that has happened to me. I can only hope that I will survive here for more than three months. I didn't want to tell you in case you never talked to me again but you needed to know the truth" I finished my story and turned away from the camp fire, a very confused pair of eyes staring at me, digging into my back, and sharper than daggers.

"So you didn't want to tell us because we would remember that you killed some people in front of us and threw us into a portal? But why would people want to kill you for that?"

"Your admiration of me clouds your mind Keegan. It's not for what I did necessarily that would make others want to kill me, but rather what I am. I am a villain in their eyes. You just can't see it"

"And neither can you apparently!" Killian said out of nowhere. The ruddy bastard had followed us and listened to me explain my entire story to Aimee and Keegan; He may be my father, but that didn't make me want to slap him any less.

"A) See what, I am a pirate; therefore a villain in the eyes of Storybrooke and B) See what? I am nothing more than a pirate we have already covered this"

"Just because you are a pirate doesn't mean that you are a villain. In port Samuel the inn keeper was right to call you a heroine, for even though you don't see it, the rest of us do. There is always going to things that you regret doing, even when you know for a fact it was the right thing to, but all we are trying to say Sam, is that even though you don't feel like you deserve it, or even understand why, we will always be here for you, and we will always see you as a hero. You may not see it, but you belong here in Storybrooke. Our colourful monicas may not be what Storybrooke expects a hero to be like, but by no means are we not needed." Killian had slowly walked over to me and had ended up on his knee's right in front of me, which was just as well for I needed someone to cry on, and even though I hadn't been his daughter for very long, he knew exactly what to say and do to make me feel better. And he had been right about what I was. For even though we cannot see what others make of us, (in my case a heroine) it doesn't mean that we are what we see in the darkest areas of our minds.


End file.
